AZERI-U.S. MILITARY DRILLS CANCELLED AMID ROW
Afet Mehtiyeva
Reuters
dUKLDE63I1NZ20100419?sp=true
April 19 2010
UK
* Azerbaijan angry over U.S.-backed Turkey-Armenia thaw * Accuses
U.S. of siding with Armenia in Karabakh conflict
BAKU, April 19 (Reuters) – Planned joint military exercises by
Azerbaijan and the United States were cancelled on Monday against a
backdrop of strained ties between Washington and the oil-producing
former Soviet republic.
The announcement by Azerbaijan followed its sharp criticism of
Washington’s role in its festering conflict with Armenia over the
breakaway mountain region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Diplomats say the criticism reflects Azeri anger over U.S. support
for a deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan’s close Muslim ally Turkey
to mend ties and reopen their border.
Azerbaijan, a supplier oil and gas to the West, fears the deal will
weaken its hand in talks over the rebel territory.
Azerbaijan did not specify who cancelled the exercises planned for May,
or why, but the U.S. embassy said it suggested "that the question be
posed to the government of Azerbaijan".
An Azeri Defence Ministry spokesman told Reuters: "The exercises are
cancelled, but the reason is not known."
In an interview with Reuters on Friday, a senior aide to Azeri
President Ilham Aliyev accused the United States of siding with
Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and warned that Baku could
"reconsider" its relations with Washington.
The United States is co-mediator with Russia and France in talks over
the rebel region, where ethnic Armenians backed by Armenia threw off
Azeri rule in the early 1990s in a war that killed 30,000 people. A
peace deal has never been signed.
Turkey closed its frontier with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with
Azerbaijan during the war, and Azerbaijan says it should stay closed
until ethnic Armenian forces pull back.
Despite misgivings over human rights under Aliyev, the United States
has traditionally had good relations with Azerbaijan, which hosts
oil majors including BP (BP.L), ExxonMobil (XOM.N) and Chevron (CVX.N).
Stung by the Azeri backlash, Turkey now says it will only ratify the
deal with Armenia if Yerevan makes concessions on Nagorno-Karabakh.
Diplomats say the issue is weighing on negotiations between Turkey
and Azerbaijan on gas supplies and transit, complicating plans for
the U.S. and European-backed Nabucco pipeline. (Additional reporting
by Margarita Antidze in Tbilisi; Writing by Matt Robinson; Editing
by Andrew Roche)