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C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 021209 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/27/2018 
TAGS: UNGA PREL AM AJ RU GE UP PBTS
SUBJECT: GUIDANCE FOR AZERBAIJANI UNGA RESOLUTION 
 
REF: A. USUN 178 
     ¶B. BAKU 129 
 
Classified By: IO PDAS James B. Warlick, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.    (U)  This is an action request.  See Para. 2. 
 
¶2.    Action request:  Department requests that USUN urge 
Azerbaijan's mission to the UN to work on an UNGA resolution 
that stresses that Kosovo is not a precedent for 
Nagarno-Karabakh (NK) or any other conflict.  In order to 
secure U.S. support, such a resolution should be 
appropriately balanced, noting support for Azerbaijan,s 
territorial integrity while stressing that the future status 
of NK is a matter for negotiations. The resolution should 
also express support for the current OSCE Minsk Group 
process.  Post should draw from the background below and 
points in para 3 and background as necessary.  Post should 
also consult with the French mission.   Since a resolution 
text that addresses legal issues may have implications in 
other contexts (including in connection with claims of rights 
asserted by groups with respect to the USG), Department 
wishes to review any text before the USG commits to support 
it.  End action request. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Department requests USUN draw on the following 
points in discussions with the Azerbaijani Mission: 
 
-- In an expression of strong support for Azerbaijan,s 
territorial integrity, the United States issued a statement 
immediately after we announced our recognition of Kosovo's 
independence stressing that Kosovo is not a precedent for NK 
or any other conflict. 
 
-- We are willing to help secure a similarly worded 
resolution in the UN. 
 
-- Such a resolution should be appropriately balanced, noting 
support for Azerbaijan,s territorial integrity while 
stressing that the future status of NK is a matter for 
negotiations and must take into account relevant principles 
of international law. The resolution should also express 
support for the current OSCE Minsk Group process. 
 
-- We recognize Azerbaijan,s sovereign right to pursue 
resolutions on NK at the UN and in any other international 
fora, but we cannot support the current Azerbaijani draft, as 
it would damage our Minsk Group negotiating process that has 
brought us close to agreement on the Basic Principles of an 
NK settlement.  We most likely will be compelled to vote 
against it. 
 
-- As in the case of Azerbaijan,s draft resolution on 
wildfires in 2006, we would prefer to work together to 
reshape your draft into a constructive resolution, which 
bolsters Azerbaijan,s territorial integrity without 
jeopardizing the Minsk Group process. 
 
¶4. (SBU)  (if pressed on why Kosovo is a special case and not 
a precedent)  Kosovo,s special circumstances include, among 
others, the following points: 
 
- In 1999, NATO,s 19 allies reached the consensus decision 
to take collective action to remove Milosevic,s police and 
military forces from Kosovo. 
 
- Kosovo is administered by the United Nations under U.N. 
Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 1244, unanimously adopted 
(with China abstaining) June 10, 1999, to address 
Milosevic,s actions.  Elements of UNSCR 1244 include: 
denying Serbia a role in governing Kosovo; setting up an 
interim UN administration; providing for local 
self-government; and envisioning a UN-led political process 
to determine Kosovo,s future status. 
 
---------- 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶5.  (C)  In response to  ref A, Department concurs with 
Embassy Baku that the Government of Azerbaijan's resolution 
on "the situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan" 
is driven by two factors. First, Azerbaijan has long sought 
to broaden support for its position on NK in a variety of 
international fora, especially in the UN, in the hope of 
increasing its leverage in Minsk Group negotiations. Second, 
Azerbaijan's concern about Kosovo is a genuine (albeit 
short-term) driver. When Ambassador Derse demarched FM 
Mammadyarov on Kosovo independence, he made it clear that, 
for domestic political reasons, he would have to take 
immediate action to show that Azerbaijan would not accept 
Kosovo as a precedent for NK. He said explicitly that 
Azerbaijan would consider an UNGA resolution to this effect 
) &either the GUAM resolution or our own8 (reported in ref 
B). Azerbaijan also has announced its intent to withdraw its 
peacekeepers from Kosovo. 
 
¶6.  (C)  The resolution as drafted presents only the 
Azerbaijani positions on the Nagorno Karabakh, including 
territorial integrity, refugees, and territories without 
parallel reference to self-determination or Armenian 
equities. 
 
¶7.  (C)  Department seeks to work with Azerbaijan to 
transform this problematic resolution into a more helpful (or 
at least less objectionable one) that reiterates our support 
for Azerbaijan,s territorial integrity by declaring that 
Kosovo is sui generis and not a precedent for other 
conflicts.  Department and Embassy Baku agree that Azerbaijan 
probably would support such a resolution if: 
 
--   it embraces the principle of territorial integrity 
without stressing the principle of self-determination of 
peoples, (which we cannot accept); and 
 
--  explicitly refers to NK. 
 
¶8.  (C)  FM Mammadyarov and DFMs Azimov and Khalafov have 
asked that USG public statements explicitly note that Kosovo 
is not a precedent for NK. Embassy Baku issued such a 
statement, cleared by the Department, immediately after U.S. 
recognition of Kosovo's indepedence. The Department concurs 
with the Embassy's judgment that Azerbaijan probably would 
initially seek to maintain its draft resolution alongside a 
separate resolution on Kosovo not being a precedent, 
particularly if the Azerbaijani delegation to the UN judges 
it can get its resolution passed.  The MFA reported to the 
Embassy that it believes it has strong support for its draft 
resolution, and has clearly been working hard over the past 
year to build support internationally.  Department recommends 
that USUN ascertain the level of support for this resolution. 
 Azerbaijan likely has strong support for its position within 
the OIC and NAM, with which it has coordinated on many issues 
over the last few years to swap votes in pursuit of support 
on NK. 
 
¶9.  (C)  Department notes that the Under Secretary Burns 
pledged to Armenian FM Oskanian in September 2006 that the 
U.S. would not support any UN resolution on NK that was 
unbalanced with regard to embracing the principle of 
territorial integrity of states to the exclusion of the 
principle of self-determination of peoples.  Russian and 
French Minsk Group Co-Chairs are also strongly opposed to the 
current draft resolution and have urged us to show solidarity 
within the Minsk Group by telling Azerbaijan we will vote 
against it.  Please note that the Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign 
Minister told Embassy Baku that the proposal of a resolution 
that makes it clear Kosovo is not a precedent for NK is "not 
acceptable."   Azimov said the words "self-determination and 
territorial integrity" are extremely important for the UNGA 
resolution. 
RICE