Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BAKU1501
2006-10-16 04:55:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Baku
Cable title:  

AMBASSADOR'S INTRODUCTORY CALL ON DEPUTY PRIME

Tags:  PREL PGOV PHUM PREF PBTS MARR SNAR AJ 
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VZCZCXRO9837
PP RUEHDBU
DE RUEHKB #1501/01 2890455
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 160455Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAKU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1474
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 0602
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 0348
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 0493
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0185
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA SZ PRIORITY 0201
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 001501 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR DAS BRYZA AND PRM A/S SAUERBREY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/02/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PREF PBTS MARR SNAR AJ
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S INTRODUCTORY CALL ON DEPUTY PRIME
MINISTER ALI HASSANOV


Classified By: Ambassador Anne E. Derse for Reasons 1.4 b and d.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 001501

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR DAS BRYZA AND PRM A/S SAUERBREY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/02/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PREF PBTS MARR SNAR AJ
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S INTRODUCTORY CALL ON DEPUTY PRIME
MINISTER ALI HASSANOV


Classified By: Ambassador Anne E. Derse for Reasons 1.4 b and d.


1. (C) Summary. In a September 27 introductory meeting with
the Ambassador, Deputy Prime Minister Ali Hassanov reiterated
the GOAJ commitment to improving the conditions of
Azerbaijan's IDP population. Hassanov said that he has
transformed the GOAJ relationship with the international
donor community as Chairman of State Committee for
IDP/Refugee Issues. Hassanov reported the GOAJ would spend
$200 million in 2006 to address IDP issues. He also said he
was committed to advancing GOAJ planning for the future
repatriation of the IDP population in the event of settlement
of the Nagorno-Karabakh (N-K) conflict. Hassanov singled out
Russia's interest in preventinga resolution as an obstacle
to the Minsk Group pace process, which he described as a
failure. Separately, Hassanov said that the GOAJ supports the
development of Non-Banking Financial Institutions in
Azerbaijan, a key element of USAID's Small and Medium
Enterprises project, given NBFI's potential to improve the
economic conditions of the general population and
specifically of the IDP community. Hassanov welcomed the
future visit of PRM Assistant Secretary Sauerbrey and agreed
to a subsequent discussion on drug trafficking which he
described as a problem. End Summary.

STATE COMMITTEE COOPERATION WITH DONORS NEVER BETTER
-------------- --------------


2. (C) In a September 27 meeting with the Ambassador, Deputy
Prime Ali Hassanov, Chairman of the State Committee on IDP,
Refugee Issues and Humanitarian Assistance, detailed the
extent of his office's cooperation with the international
community. Hassanov, elevated in 1997 to the Deputy Prime
Ministership, said that former President Heydar Aliyev tasked
him with restructuring GOAJ programs to improve the welfare

of Azerbaijan's "one million" IDPs and to strengthen the GOAJ
relationship with the international community. (Note: UNHCR
estimates that there are approximately 650,000 IDPs in
Azerbaijan.)


3. (C) Hassanov said that in 1998 many international aid
agencies were pulling out of Azerbaijan, fed up with red
tape, corruption and a lack of GOAJ cooperation. While the
GOAJ was largely to blame for these problems, Hassanov added
that Section 907 of the US Freedom Support Act further
complicated the GOAJ efforts to coordinate IDP assistance
programs since the GOAJ at that time was ineligible to
receive direct assistance. Since then, Hassanov reported, the
GOAJ has reinvented its IDP aid program, eliminating
bureaucratic obstacles to assistance delivery, exempting
donors from taxes and creating a previously unheard of level
of transparency in Azerbaijan's government. (International
donors praise Hassanov's efforts as largely successful.)
Hassanov added that today his office coordinates the work of
74 international donor organizations, many of them American,
without difficulty. Hassanov remarked that in the end "donors
could be confident that the aid reaches the IDP population,
where it's needed most."

GOAJ WORKING ON REPATRIATION PLANNING, IMPROVING IDP
CONDITIONS
-------------- --------------


4. (C) Hassanov said that the GOAJ spent $200 million in 2005
to improve IDP conditions and will spend another $200 by the
close of 2006 - $100 million drawn from the state budget and
$100 million from the State Oil Fund. Hassanov reported that
by the end of 2007, the GOAJ plans to have closed all
existing tent camps and replaced them with newly constructed
settlements. He acknowledged that currently still far too
many IDPs live in schools and abandoned buildings.


5. (C) The Ambassador underscored the importance of the GOAJ
developing a comprehensive repatriation plan in the event of
a settlement of the N-K conflict. Hassanov agreed, noting
that he has been closely collaborating with leading
international organizations, principally UNHCR and ICRC, to
develop a repatriation planning framework. Hassanov said the
GOAJ will work with the international community to divvy up
responsibility for post settlement repatriation planning
along sectoral lines (e.g. health, education, demining,
infrastructure) with the USG, UNHCR, and ICRC acting in key
roles. However, Hassanov said a comprehensive needs
assessment would be required to ascertain the post conflict

BAKU 00001501 002 OF 002


condition of the region before any detailed, operational plan
could be carried out.


6. (C) The Ambassador told the DPM that PRM A/S Sauerbrey
planned to visit Azerbaijan from November 16-17. The
Ambassador stressed that aside from monitoring USG
IDP/refugee assistance programs, the Assistant Secretary
would want to learn more about GOAJ planning for a future IDP
repatriation in the event of a settlement of the N-K
conflict. The DPM welcomed A/S Sauerbrey's visit and
indicated that his office would provide any assistance
requested to make it a success.

DEPUTY PM: MINSK GROUP PROCESS A FAILURE
--------------


7. (C) Hassanov strongly criticized the OSCE Minsk Group
process, saying that "After 14 years, (the Minsk Group) has
little to show for its efforts." Hassanov argued that the
Co-Chairs' failure stemmed from the Group's composition:
Russia, whom Hassanov said was responsible for the conflict
to begin with and has no interest in resolving it, and
France, a country, Hassanov commented, with a large and
influential Armenian population. Neither could be trusted to
carryout a legitimate peace process. Hassanov said that even
in Washington the Armenian diaspora is the "second most
powerful political lobby." He told the Ambassador that the
N-K conflict began because Azerbaijan refused to permit
Russian troops to be stationed on Azerbaijani soil in the
aftermath of its independence from the Soviet Union.


8. (C) Russia, Hassanov alleged, exploited the weakness of
Azerbaijan's first post-independence government and provided
material support to the Armenian military to invade
Azerbaijan's territory. Underscoring his view of Russia's
role in preventing a settlement, Hassanov pointed to Armenian
President Robert Kocharian's early willingness to negotiate
with former President Heydar Aliyev only to renege after the
1999 assassination of Armenia's speaker of parliament, deputy
speaker and prime minister. Armenia, Hassanov remarked, is
the instrument of Russia's attempt to divide and control the
South Caucasus. Hassanov added this was a Russian policy
across the FSU, pointing to Russia's hand in the conflicts of
South Ossetia and Transnistria as further evidence of its
objectives.


9. (C) Hasanov said it was too soon to evaluate the efficacy
of the new American co-chair, but cautioned that the
Co-Chairs' failure to meet with the IDP community during
their frequent trips to the region was a serious mistake.
Hassanov said he told GOAJ Foreign Minister Mammadyarov that
it was important to involve the IDPs in the process from the
outset and not to foist any agreement on the population most
affected by its terms. Hassanov said that the Co-Chairs'
belief that "some of the IDPs will stay" in their current
locations and "some will return" to the post-conflict area is
wrong and reflects their lack of interaction with the IDP
community.

COOPERATION ON NBFI
--------------


10. (C) The Ambassador also highlighted the need for the GOAJ
to support the development of Non-Banking Financial
Institutions, a key element of USAID's Small and Medium
Enterprise development project. The Ambassador said that it
is vital that NBFI's obtain legal registration and permission
to operate under commercial terms in order to make NBFIs
strong providers of credit to the IDP community and to other
underserved segments of the population. Hassanov expressed
his support for the NBFI initiative and promised to address
further cooperation with the USAID's Country Coordinator.


11. (C) Hassanov confirmed he has responsibility for
combating drug trafficking, offered the view that Azerbaijan
has a problem and agreed to a subsequent meeting to discuss
the issue further.
DERSE