AZERBAIJAN WITHDRAWING PEACEKEEPERS FROM KOSOVO

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 000192

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR EUR/CARC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/05/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV PBTS MARR MASS MOPS KPAO AJ
SUBJECT: AZERBAIJAN WITHDRAWING PEACEKEEPERS FROM KOSOVO

REF: A. BAKU 00150


B. BAKU 00129

Classified By: DCM Donald Lu for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) This is an action request; see paragraph 5.


2. (C) The Azerbaijani Parliament voted on March 4 to
withdraw its 34 peacekeepers from Kosovo. The decision has
been expected for several days, as local press and several
MP's publicly stated as early as February 26 that President
Aliyev requested that Parliament take this step. According
to Emboff who was at Parliament during the vote,
Parliamentary Speaker Oqtay Asadov and Deputy Speaker Ziyafat
Asgarov introduced the bill and limited discussion when
several MPs called for an immediate vote. The vote on the
resolution was 87 votes in favor, three votes against, and
two abstentions. We believe this decision is driven by
Baku's concern that Kosovo's declaration of independence
creates the perception of a precedent that could undermine
Azerbaijan's position with respect to the Nagorno-Karabakh
(NK) conflict. GOAJ officials and Azerbaijani society in
general are viewing developments in Kosovo primarily through
the lens of NK (ref a).


3. (C) In addition to the public indications that the GOAJ
would withdraw its peacekeepers from Kosovo, Foreign Minister
Mammadyarov told the Ambassador on February 12 that he
personally would push for this step. Despite the strong GOAJ
resolve to withdraw the peacekeepers, both Mammadyarov and
Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov have privately indicated
that the GOAJ may consider sending these peacekeepers to
Afghanistan or Iraq because the GOAJ does not want to
diminish Azerbaijan's total peacekeeping contributions (ref
b).


4. (C) Azimov told the Ambassador during a meeting on
February 29 that he planned to recommend to FM Mammadyarov
that the Azerbaijani peacekeepers who would inevitably be
withdrawn from Kosovo be sent to Afghanistan. He said he did
not know what the ultimate outcome would be, but he believed
that the FM would likely be supportive of this position as
well. Furthermore, he noted that the decision was a purely
political one and that there are no "special feelings" for
the Serbs. He underscored that the Azerbaijan "did not want
to lower its peacekeeping profile." He also was unable to
specify the logistical or legislative mechanisms by which
such a lateral transfer could take place. Galib Israfilov,
an MFA office director who reports to Azimov, told us that
while the GOAJ could potentially send more peacekeepers to
Afghanistan or Iraq he cautioned against the idea that this
might ocur quickly because this step would involve separate
political and military discussions within the GOAJ.
Mammadyarov and Azimov separately have asked for a U.S.
statement indicating that Kosovo is not a precedent for
unresolved conflicts in the South Caucasus or Moldova,
explicitly disassociating Kosovo's status from NK.


5. (SBU) Action request: We already are receiving press
inquiries regarding U.S. reaction to Azerbaijan,s decision
to withdraw its peacekeeping troops from Kosovo. The
Department,s guidance -- both for use in private meetings
with GOAJ officials -- and also for press inquiries -- is
requested.
DERSE