EurasiaNet , NY
Sept 17 2010
Azerbaijan: American Ambassador Confirmation Process Stalled
September 17, 2010 – 3:05pm, by Shahin Abbasov
The Senate confirmation process for the Obama administration’s nominee
as US envoy to Azerbaijan appears stuck in neutral. Experts believe
that the confirmation has become entangled in partisan politics.
The ambassadorial post in Azerbaijan, a key strategic partner for
Washington, has been vacant for the past 15 months. In late May, the
White House nominated to the post Matthew Bryza, a seasoned South
Caucasus diplomatic hand who was widely believed to be favored by the
Azerbaijani government.
But those contacts – via energy and mediation of the Nagorno-Karabakh
dispute – proved to play against Bryza’s confirmation. US-based
Armenian diaspora groups have lobbied actively against his
appointment, pushing several senators to question whether his close
ties to the Azerbaijani government might cloud influence his
diplomatic behavior. [For details, see the EurasiaNet.org archive].
Discussions in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are expected to
continue on September 21.
Long-time Caucasus analyst Thomas de Waal, a senior associate at the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC, believes
that Bryza’s confirmation is being held `hostage to the November
Senate elections and to three Senators with strong Armenian
connections – Barbara Boxer (California), Harry Reid (Nevada) and
Robert Menendez (New Jesey).’ All three are Democrats who have been
outspoken supporters for recognition of Ottoman Turkey’s 1915
slaughter of ethnic Armenians as genocide. [For background see
EurasiaNet’s archive].
`But it is my feeling that after November, Bryza will be confirmed,’
de Waal continued in an email interview with EurasiaNet.org. `The
absence of an ambassador in Baku is becoming too much of an irritation
and hurting US interests in the region.’
Aside from its long history of cooperation with US energy companies,
Azerbaijan also serves as a forwarding point for shipments of
non-military supplies to Afghanistan. [For background see EurasiaNet’s
archive].
Of late, criticism of Washington’s choice for ambassador has started
coming from Baku. On August 6, the Yeni Azerbaijan daily, the official
outlet of President Ilham Aliyev’s Yeni Azerbaijani Party, published
an article that criticized the `show organized in the Senate,’ a
reference to Bryza’s confirmation process, describing it as an attempt
to put pressure on Azerbaijan.
`The delay of such a minor issue by the United States and the attempt
to make a show out of a simple appointment is not something positive,’
the article stated.
The story also targeted Bryza himself. `Our nation was not happy with
Bryza’s activity, either as an assistant to the Secretary of State or
as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group [which mediates talks between
Baku and Yerevan over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region],’ the
commentary said. `On the contrary, in many cases his behavior and
statements created serious discontent.’ [For details, see the
EurasiaNet.org archive.]
The newspaper commentary added that it makes `no big difference for
Azerbaijan if a Bryza or a John or a Michael is appointed ambassador.’
Officials in Baku have so far avoided any public criticism of Bryza.
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has said several times that it is
up to Washington to decide whom to appoint ambassador to Baku, and
when to send an envoy.
A representative of President Ilham Aliyev’s administration, speaking
on condition of anonymity, told EurasiaNet.org that the Yeni
Azerbaijan article indeed reflects growing government irritation over
Bryza’s prolonged confirmation process. `It is not a matter of Bryza’s
personality. It is just not good for bilateral relations that the
United States does not have an ambassador to Baku for so long,’ the
source said.
Terming the allegations against Bryza `false,’ the source stressed
that the administration is not happy that the Armenian Diaspora
appears to have enough power in the US Senate to delay sending an
ambassador to Baku.
One Baku-based political analyst, Elhan Shahinoglu, believes that the
Azerbaijani government now has its doubts that the Senate will confirm
Bryza. `They think that the White House could run another candidate,’
said Shahinoglu, who runs the Atlas think-tank. `Why should Baku take
the risk and later be accused of lobbying for Bryza?’
By contrast, de Waal believes that the Azerbaijani establishment wants
to see Bryza confirmed. `Firstly because having a US ambassador is
better than not having one and also because he is a man they know and
can do business with,’ he said.
Washington-based Azerbaijani journalist Alakbar Raufoglu, who has been
following the Senate confirmation process closely, believes that
Azerbaijan’s earlier attempts to lobby for Bryza’s confirmation could
have damaged his prospects.
In late August, The Washington Examiner, a local paper, published an
op-ed by former Senator Conrad Burns (a Montana Republican) in support
of Bryza. Once the paper learned from an Armenian Diaspora group that
Burns advises a company founded by a senior advisor to a firm that has
been linked to President Aliyev’s family, it attacked Burns for
allegedly misleading editors and denounced Bryza’s nomination.
`This fact again shows that as long as the Azerbaijani government
appears in Bryza’s background, instead of helping him, they harm him,’
commented Raufoglu.
Editor’s note: Shahin Abbasov is a freelance correspondent based in
Baku. He is also a board member of the Open Society
Institute-Azerbaijan.
From: A. Papazian