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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 000734 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR DAS BRYZA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/25/2017 
TAGS: PREL PGOV ENRG BPIS AJ TU
SUBJECT: AZERBAIJANI DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER KHALAFOV ON 
IRAN AND TURKMENISTAN 
 
REF: BAKU 696 
 
Classified By: Charge Donald Lu, REASONS 1.4 (B,D). 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY:  Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for 
National Security Advisor Joseph Wood and Ambassador Derse 
met with Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov 
on May 30.  Khalafov, responsible for Caspian delimitation 
and policy toward Iran and Turkmenistan, affirmed 
Azerbaijan,s support for UN sanctions against Iran but 
stressed the Security Council must be united for sanctions to 
be most effective.  Stressing Azerbaijan,s complex 
relationship with Iran, Khalafov urged dialogue rather than 
confrontation over Iran,s nuclear programs. 
Khalafov outlined Azerbaijan,s plans to re-establish 
relations with Turkmenistan, focusing first on "non-dispute" 
issues such as humanitarian and economic issues, including 
the establishment of an intergovernmental commission.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
-------------------------- 
IRAN-AZERBAIJANI RELATIONS 
-------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) Khalafov, who is Azerbaijan's chief negotiator on the 
Caspian demarcation issues, and is responsible for Iran 
policy within the Azerbaijani MFA, described 
Azerbaijani-Iranian relations as being different at different 
points in time.  Speaking in Azerbaijani, Khalafov said that 
Azerbaijan was trying to build relations in order to 
"minimize the negatives" from the Iranian side, and that 
Azerbaijan is "carrying out political dialogue in order to 
normalize political relations."  He said that Azerbaijan was 
always factoring in Iran when it formulates its policies and 
that there are sometimes negative effects as a result. 
 
¶3.  (C) Khalafov said that Iran continues to export Islamic 
revolution to Azerbaijan overtly through educational and 
cultural means, particularly through providing formal Shi'ite 
Islamic education to young Azerbaijani men.  Additionally, 
Khalafov cited Iranian support for Armenia as something that 
also had a direct, detrimental effect on Azerbaijan's 
national security.  He said that both these factors have 
"increased over the years."  He said while Sunni extremism is 
rising worldwide, 
Iran is also doing its part to support Islamic radicalism in 
the north Caucasus and Georgia. 
 
¶4.  (C) Azerbaijan is also concerned about Iran's nuclear 
program.  Khalafov said that Azerbaijan acknowledges Iran,s 
right to peaceful nuclear development in line with 
international norms and standards.  However, he quickly 
conceded that Iran had gone well past peaceful nuclear 
development.  Khalafov said that "if the situation continues 
to develop as it is, then it will not be good for 
Azerbaijan."  He lamented the statements of Iranian President 
Ahmedinejad, noting that his statements against Israel "do 
not contribute to stability, because Iran has the ability to 
act on their statements." 
 
¶5.  (C) Khalafov was also concerned about Iran's role in the 
Middle East and the Middle East Peace Process, nothing that 
Iran,s goal was to "create problems with the Sunni 
countries."  He described Iran as pushing "artificial 
policies they are trying to use in the context of the Middle 
East."  In regard to Russia, he said that Iran's position 
creates a great deal of opportunities for Russia in the 
region, and quickly noted that it therefore was important for 
Azerbaijan to strengthen its alliance with the United States 
and Europe in security, political, economic and social areas. 
 He said that it was not in Russia's national interests that 
Iran develop nuclear weapons. 
 
¶6.  (C) In regard to a third round of United Nations 
sanctions, Khalafov opined that Iran does not comprehend the 
 
BAKU 00000734  002 OF 002 
 
 
effect that sanctions will ultimately have on it, and said 
that Azerbaijan favored a third round of sanctions on Iran. 
He also was quick to stress that it would be important for 
the United Nations Security Council to be unified on this, as 
this would send a more powerful and ultimately productive 
message to Iran than the sanctions themselves.  Khalafov said 
that Azerbaijan "feels a big responsibility" to implement 
UNSCR 1747 and that Azerbaijan 
would implement these sanctions as best as it could.  He also 
noted that "Azerbaijan has warned Iran of the consequences 
that may follow" sanctions. 
 
¶7.  (C) Khalafov said that the influence of Ahmedinejad was 
not as great as people would believe.  Based on the structure 
of the Iranian state, Khalafov said that the President is 
simply a puppet in the hands of the religious leaders, and 
carries out their policies.  He said that much of the 
internal issues in Iran results with dissatisfactions with 
Ahmedinejad and not necessarily with the clerical system. 
 
¶8.  (C) Khalafov was also quick to stress that while 
Azerbaijan is a strategic partner of the United States, 
Azerbaijan is not interested in provoking Iran and that 
dialogue should be maintained whenever possible.  He said 
that the situation within Iran "could be advantageous" and 
that "not everyone supports the government; there is 
opposition."  He added that "work needs to be carried would 
with the 'hope sources' to deal with the Iranian nuclear 
issue." 
 
------------ 
TURKMENISTAN 
------------ 
 
¶9.  (C) The discussion then turned to Turkmenistan, and 
Khalafov gave a fairly comprehensive briefing on Azerbaijani 
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov's recent trip to 
Turkmenistan (reftel).  In addition Azerbaijan,s plans to 
take on "non-dispute" issues initially (reftel), Khalafov 
said that the re-establishment of Azerbaijani-Turkmenistan 
relations would focus on humanitarian issues, reopening the 
Turkmenistani embassy in 
Baku, economic issues, Caspian dialogue and the establishment 
of an intergovernmental commission.  He also noted that it 
would be important that Kazakhstani-Turkmenistani relations 
be strengthened, and he told Wood that "Azerbaijan and the 
United States have to work closely to get Turkmenistan and 
Kazakhstan to work more closely together."  He said that the 
Kazakhstani and Turkmenistani presidents were "still more 
Russia-oriented, 
but there is room." 
 
¶10.  (C) Deputy Assistant to the Vice President Wood has not 
had an opportunity to clear on this message. 
LU