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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 000443 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CARC 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/02/2019 
TAGS: PGOV MARR PREL AJ RU IR TR
SUBJECT: AZERBAIJAN:  PRESIDENT EXPRESSES INTEREST IN 
ADDITIONAL TROOP CONTRIBUTIONS TO AFGHANISTAN 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Anne E. Derse, for reasons 1.4 (b,d). 
 
¶1.   (C) SUMMARY:  On May 5, Acting DASD(P) for Russia, 
Ukraine, and Eurasia Mary Warlick met with President Ilham 
Aliyev.  During their meeting, he provided his views on the 
Nagorno-Karabakh Peace Process and the Turkey-Armenia 
Reconciliation Process, stating the two issues were linked 
and a potential turning point in regional relations.  He also 
gave a positive reaction to the USG proposal for further 
discussions on additional troops for Afghanistan.  He 
committed to supporting the upcoming Georgian exercise, 
noting that his country's performance should be rewarded in 
comparison with other Partnership for Peace countries.  He 
concluded the meeting with another request for U.S. weapon 
sales, emphasizing air defense systems.  END SUMMARY. 
 
On Nagorno Karabakh 
------------------- 
¶2.  (C) President Aliyev began by noting that he was glad 
that the U.S., from the very beginning, has been committed to 
finding a solution to the conflict.  He added that the 
agreements that he personally has made with Yerevan have all 
been with the previous Armenian President.  "Since the new 
Armenian President came into office, there have been no steps 
forward on the outstanding issues."  Six months before the 
Armenian presidential elections the process stopped so it has 
been 18 months since there has been any significant progress, 
he mused.  "If not items are agreed (in Prague), it will be 
difficult to see any progress in the future." 
¶3.  (C) The President continued that the current principles 
under discussion are acceptable to Azerbaijan.  Any solution, 
he noted, needs to be consistent with international law and 
realism.  Any attempt to establish the independence of 
Nagorno Karabakh or even a mechanism to make that possible 
will be a redline for Azerbaijan.  He said that he was ready 
for everything, including border openings and normalization, 
to happen soon if Armenia does not delay this process. 
 
On Turkey-Armenia Reconciliation 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) President Aliyev started by saying that the Turks had 
not informed them about the Turkey-Armenia reconciliation 
process.  He said that they were first told in April, just 
hours before the joint statement was issued.  "We do not see 
any energy cooperation with Turkey if they separate (Nagorno) 
Karabakh from this reconciliation process."  He said with 
remorse that it would undermine everything that he has 
personally worked for during the past 15 years to build an 
energy infrastructure to the West. 
¶5.  (C) Aliyev stressed that Turkey-Armenian rapprochement, 
if not conditioned on progress on Nagorno-Karabakh (NK), 
would damage Azerbaijan-Turkey relations. 
On Troops For Afghanistan 
------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (C) Following through on President Aliyev's April 
commitment in principle to deploy a regular rotation of an 
additional trained and equipped battalion to Afghanistan, 
DASD Warlick presented two alternative mission sets 
identified by CENTCOM and SHAPE.  One would be to conduct 
operations in Kabul under Turkish or U.S. leadership.  This 
mission would expand on Azerbaijan's current ISAF role, with 
90 personnel operating in Kabul under Turkish leadership. 
The other mission would be to break the battalion into 
company-sized units to provide fixed-site security, likely 
under USMC leadership, in RC-South.  This mission would be 
similar to the role the Azerbaijanis performed in Iraq at 
Haditha Dam. 
¶7.  (U) Aliyev sought further information about the missions 
and what a train and equip program might include.  DASD 
Warlick mentioned that General Craddock was coming to Baku 
later in the month, and could elaborate more on the specifics. 
On Georgian Exercise 
-------------------- 
 
¶8.  (C) Aliyev confirmed that Azerbaijan would not withdraw 
from the LONGBOW exercise in Georgia, which he said 
demonstrates Azerbaijan's commitment to U.S. priorities, 
unlike Armenia, which withdrew under Russian pressure. 
 
BAKU 00000443  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶9.  (C)  Aliyev noted that it would be interesting to look 
into the details of the performance of varying Partnership 
for Peace (PfP) countries, stating that Azerbaijan had 
participated in many 196 such events last year.  He continued 
saying that some countries were members of the CIS Security 
Treaty Organization (CSTO), and yet still were PfP members, 
but Georgia and Azerbaijan maintained a practical approach to 
their cooperation.  "It's time to send a clear message to the 
region that future cooperation will be based on countries' 
performance."  He further noted that CSTO nations do not 
participate in ISAF, and the U.S. should show more visible 
signs of support for those that do. 
 
On Weapons Sales 
---------------- 
 
¶10.  (C) President Aliyev went on to say that he was very 
happy with United States military relations, but wanted 
access to NATO equipment.  He sought to purchase military 
equipment from the U.S., a long-held desire that has been 
thwarted by Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act.  In this 
context, he reiterated his previously stated request to buy 
defensive equipment, mainly air defense equipment, citing 
their need to feel more protected and safe. 
 
¶11. (U) This cable has not been cleared by DASD Warlick. 
DERSE