Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BAKU992
2006-07-11 08:01:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Baku
Cable title:  

AMBASSADOR'S INTRODUCTORY CALL ON PRIME MINISTER

Tags:  PREL PGOV PHUM ETRD ECON KISL IR AJ 
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PP RUEHDBU
DE RUEHKB #0992/01 1920801
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 110801Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAKU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0721
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 1646
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 0440
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 000992 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/05/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ETRD ECON KISL IR AJ
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S INTRODUCTORY CALL ON PRIME MINISTER
RASIZADE


Classified By: Ambassador Anne E. Derse, reasons 1.4 (b,d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 000992

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/05/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ETRD ECON KISL IR AJ
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S INTRODUCTORY CALL ON PRIME MINISTER
RASIZADE


Classified By: Ambassador Anne E. Derse, reasons 1.4 (b,d).


1. (C) Summary: During the Ambassador's July 4 introductory
call, Prime Minister Rasizade urged the U.S. to consider the
root causes of terrorism. The Ambassador responded that U.S.
policy focuses on eliminating terrorism by giving people hope
in the future, and urged Azerbaijan, as Chair of the OIC
Foreign Ministers Conference, to encourage tolerance and
moderation. The Prime Minister welcomed U.S. interest in
promoting global energy security, and sought U.S. support for
the Kars-Alkhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku railroad, pitching it as
an energy transport issue. He expressed concern about U.S.
financial assistance to the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic and made an implicit plea for greater U.S. action to
resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He also warned that
Iran was trying to export its Islamic revolution to
Azerbaijan. The Prime Minster agreed that continued
political and economic reform was necessary for Azerbaijan's
long-term prosperity. End summary.


2. (C) During her July 4 introductory call on Prime Minister
Artur Rasizade, the Ambassador reviewed U.S. priorities for
the bilateral relationship: global and regional security,
energy security, and reform. She thanked the Prime Minister
for Azerbaijan's staunch support in the Global War on
Terrorism and offered U.S. support for Azerbaijan's efforts
to bring Caspian gas to European markets. She urged the
Prime Minister to continue Azerbaijan's political and
economic reform efforts, noting that speedy progress toward
WTO accession could play a key role in diversifying
Azerbaijan's economy.


3. (C) While affirming Azerbaijan's support for U.S.-led
efforts to combat terrorism, the Prime Minister also urged
the U.S. to think about the reasons behind terrorism. He
rued the tendency of countries -- not the United States, he
pointedly noted -- to connect terrorism to Islam, and said

the world needs to think instead about the injustices that
lead teenagers to become martyrs. The Ambassador thanked the
Prime Minister for his views, noting that Azerbaijan -- as a
secular, reform-minded Muslim country deeply engaged in
combating global terrorism -- brings a unique perspective to
the issue. The Ambassador said that President Bush had made
clear in many public statements that Islam is one of the
world's great religions. United States foreign policy
focuses on eliminating the causes of terrorism by giving
people hope in the future. Azerbaijan, as Chair of the OIC
Foreign Ministers Conference, can play an important role in
furthering this message by encouraging tolerance and
moderation.


4. (C) Noting U.S. Vice President Cheney's remarks on energy
in Vilnius, the Prime Minister told the Ambassador that
Azerbaijan's energy projects are growing in importance. He
welcomed U.S. support for Azerbaijan's efforts to bring
Caspian gas to European markets, and said the Cabinet of
Ministers had created a new office for Energy Security in
order to further increase regional cooperation on energy
issues. While Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan were working closely
(as evidenced by the June 2006 Inter-Governmental Agreement),
the Prime Minister said that relations with Turkmenistan were
more difficult. Turkmenistan, he said, wants to export its
natural gas via Russia.


5. (C) The Prime Minister asked for U.S. support for the
planned Kars-Alkhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku railroad, expressing
concern that the U.S. Congress had passed legislation
prohibiting Ex-Im financing for the railroad. Given U.S.
support for the export of Azerbaijan's energy resources, the
Prime Minister said he could not explain to the Azerbaijani
people U.S. Congressional opposition to the planned railroad.
Noting that the Bush Administration does not support this
legislation, the Ambassador said that the Administration
views the proposed railroad as a commercial undertaking among
sovereign states. However, we strongly support regional
integration in the Caucasus.


6. (C) The Prime Minister also asked the Ambassador why the
U.S. Congress had appropriated USD 5 million in assistance to
the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, when the U.S.
Congress had not appropriated assistance funds for other
break-away regions in the Caucasus, such as Abkhazia. The
Prime Minister made an implicit plea for greater U.S. action
to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. While the OSCE
Minsk Group Co-Chairs had always stressed that the parties
themselves must agree on the solution to the conflict, the
situation is different now with the two sides deadlocked.
The Prime Minister said that Azerbaijan wants peace. The
Ambassador responded that the U.S. and the other Co-Chairs
are ready to re-engage in the peace process; the parties know

BAKU 00000992 002 OF 002


the core principles and must tell us whether they can be
adopted or can be adjusted to form the basis for a lasting
agreement. Affirming U.S. support for the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan, the Ambassador said that U.S.
assistance to the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is
purely humanitarian in nature, and determined by the U.S.
Congress.


7. (C) Briefing the Ambassador on Azerbaijan's "tough
neighborhood," the Prime Minister said that Iran is working
actively to export its Islamic revolution to Azerbaijan,
using its intelligence services and humanitarian assistance
programs. While Azerbaijan definitely does not want an
Islamic revolution, he said Azerbaijan also does not want to
break relations with Iran. "We depend on Iran," the Prime
Minister said, particularly for energy supplies to the
Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan. He said that Iran does
not like the fact that Azerbaijan maintains good relations
with the United States and Israel. Azerbaijan, however,
highly values its relationship with the United States,
particularly as a safeguard of Azerbaijan's stability and
independence. For these reasons, the Prime Minister said,
Azerbaijan must think carefully about all foreign policy
issues.


8. (C) The Prime Minister agreed that continued political
and economic reform must be a priority, but said that the
Government of Azerbaijan alone cannot make this happen. The
people of Azerbaijan must also be involved, and reform will
take time. We have "our way" of doing things, he said. The
Prime Minister also agreed that Azerbaijan must improve its
investment climate and develop the non-energy sectors. He
promised that Azerbaijan would "do its best" on WTO accession
and said continued U.S. support for Azerbaijan's accession
would be extremely useful. In response to the Prime
Minister's complaint that Armenia received Millennium
Challenge Account (MCA) funds, the Ambassador said that
countries are selected to receive MCA funds based on
objective criteria. The reforms initiated as part of the WTO
accession process would help Azerbaijan meet this criteria.
The Ambassador offered to work with the GOAJ to identify
areas where progress was required to meet MCA criteria.
DERSE