DEFENSE MINISTER ABIYEV DISCUSSES IRANIAN-RUSSIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 000249

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/01/2027
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR MOPS PTER AJ PBTS IR RU
SUBJECT: DEFENSE MINISTER ABIYEV DISCUSSES IRANIAN-RUSSIAN
COOPERATION WITH ASD RODMAN, DASD MACDOUGALL, AND DAS
COULTER

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


1. (C) SUMMARY: During a February 12 meeting with the
Ambassador and a State-DOD delegation headed by Assistant
Secretary of Defense for International Security Peter Rodman,

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Azerbaijani Minister of Defense General Safar Abiyev
expressed concern that Russia and Iran were increasing their
cooperation through links in Armenia and the Caspian. He said
Azerbaijan sought "active cooperation with NATO up
to full membership" but could not announce this goal at
present. Abiyev complained about Iranian and Russian
support for Armenia. Abiyev thanked the delegation for USG
and DoD assistance to the Azerbaijani military and expressed
a desire that this cooperation continue and be enhanced. He
expressed concern that one day a waiver of 907 would not be
granted and that cooperation between the
United States and Azerbaijan would have to be curtailed. END
SUMMARY.

IRANIAN-RUSSIAN TIES
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2. (C) During a February 12 meeting with the Ambassador,
DATT and a delegation headed by Assistant Secretary of
Defense for International Security Peter Rodman, Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Defense James MacDougall, Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs
Michael Coulter and State Department Director for Iran
Barbara Leaf, Azerbaijani Minister of Defense General Safar
Abiyev expressed concern about what he characterized as an
increased level of ship traffic in the Caspian between
Russian and Iran. In his opening remarks, A/S Rodman
mentioned the recent speech by Russian President Vladimir
Putin in Munich as an important indicator of the Russian
leader's strategic vision. Abiyev did not comment directly
on the speech but talked at length about how unhelpful
Russia has been in bringing peace, stability and democracy to
the region. Abiyev said that Russia had provided Iran with
an air defense system and that Iran was changing the
locations of its air defense system every six months. He
said that according to "our information" Russia is assisting
Iran in installing this equipment. Finally he cited the
increased number of high-level visits between
Iranian and Russian officials.


3. (C) Citing Iran's intensification of military activities
in 2007, Abiyev said that he was "not satisfied" with Iran's
regional policy, and said that there was "no doubt" that Iran
was trying to destabilize the Caspian Region, as they are
trying to destabilize Afghanistan and Iraq. Abiyev then said
that Iranian support for Armenia was also increasing. He
said that Russia was planning to
build/finance an oil refinery in Armenia, and that the only
logical place for the oil that would be refined to come from
would be Iran.


REGIONAL SITUATION REMAINS TENSE
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4. (C) Abiyev said that the situation in the Caspian remains
complex, as Azerbaijan has not yet come to a demarcation
agreement with Iran and Turkmenistan. He said that some of
the regional tension was reduced when the Russian military
closed their bases in Georgia, but the fact that Russian
military equipment had been moved from Georgia to Armenia can
potentially create further problems
for Azerbaijan. Abiyev said that Georgia was a friend to
Azerbaijan and that despite Azerbaijan's own economic
difficulties, Azerbaijan still sold gas to Georgia when
Russia refused. Abiyev described Armenia as being "fully
governed by Russia" and said that Russia considered Armenia
to be part of Russia, and that Armenia's economy was deeply
integrated into Russia's economy.

NATO COOPERATION
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5. (C) Abiyev told the group that all of Azerbaijan's ground
forces have been transformed to NATO standards, and that
Azerbaijan would now begin working on the transformation of

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its Air Force and Navy to NATO standards. Abiyev was pleased
with the level of cooperation with the United States and said
that this was the most important part of Azerbaijan's
bilateral relations with the United States. Abiyev cited
over 200 NATO or U.S.- supported/funded programs in which
over 1000 Azerbaijani
officers have attended. Abiyev also said that he visited
Turkey and had met his military counterparts as well as
President Erdogan and that the Turks were interested in
increasing their support for Azerbaijan. Abiyev said that
Azerbaijan's cooperation with NATO had a goal in mind. He
said that this goal "could not be announced, for certain
reasons" at present, but that Azerbaijan sought "active
cooperation with NATO up to full membership". He said that
the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was the only inhibitor
of Azerbaijan moving even more quickly with NATO: "It is
time for more serious, more active steps by the US in Minsk
Group. Our cooperation with the US and NATO would be more
open and more decisive in this case."

SECTION 907
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6. (C) Abiyev expressed his concern about article 907 and
worried that when President Bush leaves office the next
president may not be as supportive of waiving 907. He
expressed concern about the disparity of funding between
Azerbaijan and Armenia. He expressed puzzlement about how
the United States can support Armenia, which is also one of
the main benefactors of Russian and Iranian aid and political
support.


7. (C) A/S Rodman thanked Abiyev for Azerbaijan's continued
commitment to the Global War on Terrorism through the
commitment of Azerbaijani troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and
Kosovo. Regarding Section 907, he emphasized that Azerbaijan
can count on President Bush while he is in office, and that
there is a growing bi-partisan awareness in Congress of the
increasing threat posed by Russia and Iran. He appreciated
the steps that Azerbaijan was taking to modernize their
military and bring it up to NATO standards. On the Iran
threat, A/S Rodman stated that U.S. policy on Iran is not
meant to provoke, but to deter Iranian pressures. To that
end, the U.S. has initiated an enhanced security dialogue
with our Gulf Arab friends aimed at addressing the security
challenges posed by Iran. DAS Coulter briefed the Azeri
group about the USGs "Gulf Security Dialogue" and its
associated six pillars. The April Pol-Mil talks present an
opportunity to explore Azerbaiani interest in GSD further.


8. (U) This message has been cleared with A/S Rodman and DAS
Coulter.
DERSE