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S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 000438 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2034 
TAGS: PGOV PREL AJ
SUBJECT: AZERBAIJAN: DEFENSE MINISTER ABIYEV DISCUSSES U.S. 
ROLE IN CAUCASUS AND TURKEY-ARMENIA RAPPROCHEMENT 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Don Lu, for reasons 1.4 (b,d) 
 
¶1. (S//NF) Summary: Azerbaijani Minister of Defense Safar 
Abiyev complained to visiting Acting Deputy Assistant 
Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia (RUE) 
Policy Mary Warlick May 6 that the Turkish officials he 
recently met with claimed the U.S. was pressuring Turkey to 
re-open the  the border with Armenia.  He expressed support, 
in principle,  for a U.S. request to provide one battalion 
for Afghanistan operations, but did not specifically commit 
to serving with Turkish troops in Kabul or with U.S. Marines 
elsewhere in southern Afghanistan.  Abiyev indicated 
increased Azerbaijani participation in Afghanistan could 
become  more feasible with athe resolution of 
Nagorno-Karabakh.  He objected to a perceived U.S. bias 
toward Armenia and recommended the U.S. refocus its attention 
(and foreign assistance) on Georgia and Azerbaijan, its 
&real8 strategic partners.  End Summary. 
 
U.S. IS BEHIND TURKEY-ARMENIA RAPPROACHEMENT 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (S//NF) Azerbaijani Minister of Defense Safar Abiyev told 
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Mary Warlick May 
6 that he had recently met in Ankara with Turkey's Chief of 
Defense, Minister of Defense, Chair of the National Assembly, 
the Prime Minister and the President, and each one had 
alleged that the U.S. was applying pressure on Turkey to 
re-open the border with Armenia.  Abiyev stated that he was 
surprised to learn the U.S. was demanding the border be 
re-opened and warned that separating Turkey from Azerbaijan 
would only increase Armenian and Russian influence in the 
region. 
 
ALL ROADS LEAD THROUGH NAGORNO-KARABAKH 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (S//NF) Abiyev approved, in principle, the proposed 
deployment of a battalion in support of ISAF operations in 
Afghanistan.  He did not indicate a preference for the 
battalion to patrol or provide site security in Kabul with 
the Turks or to have the battalion work with U.S. Marines on 
fixed site security in southern Afghanistan.  Abiyev 
acknowledged that rotating battalions would require an entire 
brigade to be trained for Afghan operations and said he was 
ready to commit one or even two additional brigades for 
Afghanistan missions, but such participation would require 
first of all that Nagorno-Karabakh (NK) be resolved. 
 
¶4. (S//NF) (COMMENT:  Azerbaijan did a good job of training 
its troops for deployment to Iraq to provide security for the 
Haditha Dam and is already sending regular company-sized 
rotations to Afghanistan to operate with the Turks.  It is 
thus likely that Azerbaijan could ably train for an expanded 
mission in Afghanistan.  However, Abiyev's offer of a second 
or third brigade for rotating deployments was conditioned on 
progress and resolution of NK.  End Comment.) 
 
ARMENIA RECEIVING UNDUE U.S. SUPPORT 
 
¶5. (S//NF) Pointing out that Armenia had withdrawn from the 
NATO PfP COOPERATIVE LONGBOW and LANCER exercises in Georgia 
under Russian pressure, Abiyev said Azerbaijan remained 
committed despite similar pressure.  He said that Armenia is 
Russia,s strategic partner and totally under the control of 
Russia.  He once again floated the GOAJ claim that Russia had 
transferred $800 million in arms to Armenia, similar to 
previous transfers.  He called ethnic Armenian separatists in 
NK "terrorists" and compared them to Al Qaeda.  He 
alsoscolded the U.S. for not preventing the Armenian Diaspora 
from providing assistance to the separatists, equating such 
assistance to terrorist financing. 
 
¶6. (S//NF)  Abiyev complained that the U.S. would not  even 
sell basic ammunition to Azerbaijan, a country the U.S. has 
labeled a strategic partner, forcing Azerbaijan to procure 
post-Soviet weaponry that is not NATO-interoperable. 
Location, willingness to cooperate, and energy resources all 
make Georgia and Azerbaijan more important to the U.S. and 
Europe than Armenia, but U.S. policy and security assistance, 
he asserted, does not demonstrate that. 
 
¶7. (S//NF)  (COMMENT:  Although Russia has in the past 
transferred large quantities of weaponry to Armenia, its CSTO 
ally, the intelligence community has largely debunked the 
recent alleged $800M transfer, and believes it is a myth the 
 
BAKU 00000438  002 OF 002 
 
 
GOAJ propagates to diminish Russian influence in the country. 
 Abiyev,s complaints regarding Azerbaijan,s inability to 
procure Western weaponry have a more factual basis, as 
Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act prevents Azerbaijan 
from procuring most U.S. military equipment, hampering 
efforts toward NATO interoperability.  End Comment.) 
 
OFFERS GEORGIA MILITARY SUPPORT 
------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (S//NF) Abiyev spoke proudly of  Azerbaijani support to 
Georgia in the form of electricity, oil, gas, and food in the 
aftermath of August 2008 events and pledged additional 
support to Tbilisi.  He said that should Georgia and Russia 
resume military operations in Georgia, Azerbaijan would 
supply Georgia with weapons. 
 
¶9. (S//NF) (COMMENT:  Abiyev's comments on Georgia were 
delivered after he asserted that Azerbaijan and Georgia were 
more important than Armenia for the U.S. and Europe, and 
after expressing dismay that more financial assistance is 
nonetheless given to Armenia. It is unclear what weapons 
Azerbaijan might supply to Georgia, but such an action would 
be a significant departure from Azerbaijan's policy inAugust 
¶2008.  At that time, the GOAJ declined military assistance to 
combatants.  In addition, it is doubtful Azerbaijan would 
part with equipment or other hardware to defend Georgia as 
long as NK remains unresolved.  End Comment.) 
 
¶10. (SBU) Acting DASD Warlick cleared this cable. 
DERSE