VZCZCXRO1974
RR RUEHDBU RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHKB #0836/01 1840846
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 030846Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY BAKU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3395
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 0597
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0423
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 2229

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 000836 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CARC 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: PREL PBTS PGOV AM RU AJ
SUBJECT:  AZERBAIJANI READOUT ON SURPRISE TRACK II DIPLOMATIC 
MISSION TO NK 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED; NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
 
¶1.  (U) On June 28, Armenian Ambassador to Russia Armen Smbatian and 
Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloglu visited the region 
of Nagorno Karabakh, accompanied by representatives of the Armenian 
and Azerbaijani intellectual elite.  While there, Smbatian and 
Bulbuloglu reportedly met with Arkadi Ghukasian, president of the 
so-called "Nagorno Karabakh Republic."  The parties traveled to 
Khankandi and Shusha before moving on to Yerevan to meet Armenian 
President Robert Kocharian, and traveled to Baku on June 29 to meet 
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On June 29, Bulbuloglu held a press conference to discuss 
the trip.  Also present were Professor Farhad Badalbayli, the Rector 
of the Baku Conservatory and a Shusha native, Dr. Kamal Abdulla, 
Rector of the Slavic University and a Shusha native, Ilham 
Fataliyev, a prominent urban planning engineer, and Professor Azar 
Pasha Neymatov, the Chairman of the Theater Professionals Union. 
Reactions of those present at the press conference were mixed: some, 
such as representatives from the KLO (Karabakh Liberation 
Organization) responded very negatively, while others were more 
receptive to the commentary from Bulbuloglu and his colleagues. 
 
Polad Bulbuloglu's Comments on the Trip 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Polad Bulbuloglu spoke first, stating that "Armenians on 
our territory will eventually be our citizens - as a result, we have 
to establish a dialogue with them."  He emphasized the need for 
greater contact between the parties to the dispute and 
representatives of civil society and NGOs, as well as MPs.  He 
pointed out that President Aliyev is committed to settling this 
conflict peacefully, and said that the route to peace can be found 
through "our common points, such as the restoration of mosques and 
other humanitarian activities."  In concluding, Bulbuloglu said that 
President Aliyev made clear to the Armenian delegation that 
Azerbaijan will "never give up on the territory." 
 
Kamal Abdulla's Comments on the Trip 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Dr. Kamal Abdulla, Rector of the Slavic University, spoke 
second.  He said that Bulbuloglu had proposed the trip to him, and 
that he embarked on it voluntarily.  He said that the Armenian 
delegates led the mission first through Aghdere to Xankendi, and 
then to Shusha, Yerevan, and finally Baku.  Abdulla's conclusion was 
that they were led through Aghdare, rather than through Aghdam, 
because Aghdam was in such shocking condition.  Upon visiting 
Shusha, the group found that Shusha was very poorly populated, and 
that its mosque and other historical sites had been partially or 
completely destroyed. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Abdulla contrasted the condition of Azerbaijani mosques in 
the occupied regions to that of an Armenian church in Baku that the 
Azerbaijani delegates showed to their Armenian counterparts.  The 
Azerbaijani government, Abdulla said, had been careful not to allow 
this Armenian site to fall into disrepair.  There, unlike the Shusha 
mosques, the building retained its roof, and many original books and 
articles remained within.  Abdulla pointed out that, with respect to 
the Armenian delegates, he "could see in (their) eyes that (they) 
know that what was happening in Shusha (to the mosques) was wrong, 
and they knew it."  Abdulla then discussed the Armenian delegation's 
reaction to the differences between Yerevan, where "only four or 
five buildings were under construction," and Baku, where 
"construction was busy and ongoing." 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Abdulla said that the Azerbaijani delegates had asked 
their Armenian counterparts if they had any justification to offer 
for the "ongoing occupation of the seven regions surrounding former 
Karabakh."  He stressed that the Armenian delegates, on multiple 
occasions, were unable to offer any reason. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) In concluding, Abdulla said that the trip was a "trial 
trip, to see if we can speak in the same language about issues of 
importance."  He expressed hope that this type of meeting might 
"bring warmth to the political negotiations," and spoke of the vital 
importance of "eye to eye, feeling to feeling" interactions between 
the parties to the conflict.  He also noted that Armenian delegates 
went so far as to blame "the devil between us," an indirect 
reference to Russia's ongoing involvement in the conflict. 
 
Farhad Badalbayli's Comments on the Trip 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Professor Farhad Badalbayli spoke next.  He said that "we 
 
BAKU 00000836  002 OF 002 
 
 
need to be pragmatic, we need to explore many possible remedies and 
solutions, and we need to talk to those living in Nagorno Karabakh." 
 He said that "there's a chance for us to work together instead of 
fighting," and explained that, as a gesture of good faith, he had 
offered to the Armenian delegates to build a new school of music in 
Shusha.  He concluded by saying that he was satisfied that President 
Aliyev had been able to convince the Armenians that Azerbaijan is 
sincere about finding a solution to the conflict. 
 
Ilham Fataliyev's Comments on the Trip 
-------------------------------------- 
¶8.  (SBU) Ilham Fataliyev, a well-known Azerbaijani urban planner, 
spoke last.  Fataliyev was very emotional while speaking: he 
recounted stories of the terrible condition of Shusha and of its 
many mosques and historical sites.  He emphasized that it had been 
many years since any of them had visited Shusha, and expressed great 
dismay that the family homes of both Polad Bulbuloglu's father (a 
prominent Azerbaijani musician) and Uzeyir Hajibayev (a prominent 
Azerbaijani composer) been looted and almost completely destroyed. 
Fataliyev said that it was as if "the city (of Shusha) was no longer 
alive - it no longer had any breath." 
 
Questions and Answers 
--------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The group fielded several questions at the conclusion of 
the press conference.  In responding to one question about the 
meeting with Arkadi Ghukasian, president of the so-called "Nagorno 
Karabakh Republic," Bulbuloglu noted that Ghukasian had been quite 
diplomatic, and had not acted or spoken provocatively.  Bulbuloglu 
said that it was his personal opinion that the parties should 
involve the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh more in the ongoing 
discussions.  However, Bulbuloglu stressed that Ghukasian is not a 
"president," and should be treated as a "community leader" in 
negotiations. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) In response to other questions, Bulbuloglu and the other 
delegates emphasized that President Aliyev had indeed been aware of 
the trip ahead of time, and stressed that there was "no chance that 
this could have happened without the President's knowledge and 
consent."  The delegates also noted that they had traveled through 
Azerbaijan rather than traveling through Armenia, as most foreign 
visitors to Nagorno Karabakh do.  Moreover, the delegates expressed 
surprise that Armenians in Shusha spoke primarily Azerbaijani, and 
speculated that these people in Shusha might be under some pressure 
from the Armenian leadership to stop speaking Azerbaijani. 
 
Reactions from NKLO Representatives 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Two representatives of the Karabakh Liberation 
Organization (KLO) -- including KLO President Akif Naghi -- attended 
the press conference and tried repeatedly to disrupt the event.  At 
one point, Naghi began to yell at Dr. Kamal Abdulla.  A heated 
exchange ensued, but when police officers attempted to remove Naghi 
from the room, Abdulla prevented them from doing so, and then 
changed seats so as to sit next to Naghi after the policemen 
departed.  Later on, Naghi began shouting again, and was removed 
from the room.  Naghi was then detained for one hour before being 
released. 
 
DERSE