KOSOVO SOLIDARITY REQUEST DELIVERED TO AZERBAIJAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 000217 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/01/2020 TAGS: PREL UNSC UNMIK PGOV YI EU KV AJ SUBJECT: KOSOVO SOLIDARITY REQUEST DELIVERED TO AZERBAIJAN REF: A. SECSTATE 22377 ¶B. BAKU 192 Classified By: POL/ECON CHIEF JOAN POLASCHIK FOR REASONS 1.4 (C). (C) POLOFF delivered ref a request of support for Kosovo independence at the March 13-14 OIC ministerial conference in Dakar to Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Security Affairs department Officer Anar Jahangirli on March 7. Jahangirli offered no substantive comment. Given that Azerbaijan continues to express strong concern that Kosovo,s independence could be used as a precedent for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and that Azerbaijan,s Parliament recently voted to withdraw Azerbaijani peacekeeping forces from Kosovo (ref b),we do not anticipate that Azerbaijan will make any statements in support of Kosovo independence at the OIC ministerial. DERSE