Azerbaijan Retreats From NATO Ambitions
Defence doctrine rules out first strike on other states, but allows offensive action to recapture occupied lands.
Azerbaijan Retreats From NATO Ambitions
Defence doctrine rules out first strike on other states, but allows offensive action to recapture occupied lands.
Azerbaijan’s new military doctrine retreats from a previous commitment to closer integration with NATO and cites neighbouring Armenia as an unfriendly state.
This was the only state in the former Soviet Union that did not have such a formal statement of defence policy. After a 15 year wait, the Azerbaijani parliament unexpectedly approved it on June 8, at an extraordinary session lasting less than a day.
The defence challenge facing Azerbaijan is complicated by the presence of Armenian forces in Nagorny-Karabakh, which has unilaterally declared independence, and in several adjoining districts.
In the doctrine, Armenia is the only state to be singled out as unfriendly, while no country is listed as a strategic partner, not even close ally Turkey.
The document rules out military action against any state except in self-defence, but in a clear reference to Nagorny Karabakh, reserves the right to “use all the means necessary, including military force, to liberate occupied territories and restore territorial integrity”.
Azerbaijan’s defence ministry expressed satisfaction with the new doctrine.
“Work on this document has been going on for several years. The main aim was to create a perfect document – a conceptual document capable of securing the military and political security of Azerbaijan. I think we have achieved this goal,” ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu told a press conference.
But analysts were less confident, saying the document was conceived in a hurry and remained incomplete.
“The military doctrine is of poor quality and is does not up to the realities of today,” said Uzeir Jafarov, chairman of the Centre for Military Studies.
He said that in other countries, defence documents contained a supplementary, confidential section, but the Azerbaijani government appeared not to have included one here.
“Note that the fact that the word ‘NATO’ is only used twice in the entire document. If we continually insist that our army is being built up according to NATO standards, then Azerbaijan must pay much more attention to cooperation with NATO, and this must be set out in the text of the doctrine,” said “I am very concerned that a document like this was discussed and approved in just half a day.”
Opposition politicians, too, picked up on the absence of a stated ambition to integrate with NATO.
“Sadly, the document says nothing about Azerbaijan’s Euro-Atlantic choice. The National Security Concept of 2007 said that integration into the Euro-Atlantic area was a foreign policy priority. This military doctrine is a step backwards,” said Sulhaddin Akper, a former national security ministry and now deputy chairman of the Musavat opposition party.
Elkhan Shahinoglu, head of the Atlas Centre for Political Research, argues that the new document indicates that integration with NATO is no longer a priority for the government. He also pointed out that military cooperation with Turkey was not mentioned, nor was there explicit reference to important neighbours Russia and Iran.
“As I read the document, I spotted these hidden, unremarked elements,” he said. “Although Russia and Iran are not mentioned in the military doctrine, there are hidden references to those countries’ policies towards Azerbaijan. For example, part 2, point 11says, ‘attempts by other states or non-state actors to obtain weapons of mass destruction and means of delivering them would put non-proliferation regime for those weapons under threat’. Isn’t that really a reference to our southern neighbour [Iran]?”
The passing of the doctrine came just after United States Defence Secretary Robert Gates visited Azerbaijan, officially to discuss military-sector cooperation such as allowing NATO troops to transit the country en route to Afghanistan.
Boyukaga Agayev, head of the South Caucasus Research Centre in Baku, noted that Gates handed Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyeva letter from President Barack Obama saying, "I am aware of the fact that there are serious issues in our relationship, but I am confident that we can address them.”
Agayev said one of the key points discussed during Gates’s visit was the radar tracking site outside the town of Gabala. Russia has a lease on the base until 2012, and talks are going on about extending it, despite Washington’s desire to control the facility.
“It’s probable that in the wake of Gates’s visit, the authorities here promised to re-examine the possibility of deploying foreign bases in the country. This matter can be finally resolved during the forthcoming visit to Baku by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,” he said.
In Armenia, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan said the doctrine’s reference to Armenia contradicted the Azerbaijani constitution, which bans the use of military force except in self-defence.
Other Armenian officials said the doctrine showed that Azerbaijan was still planning to use force to regain Karabakh.
“I can’t recall any other country where elements [amounting to] a threat of war were included in the military doctrine,” said Grair Karapetyan, chairman of the parliamentary commission for defence and security. “This is testimony to the fact that Azerbaijan is using the same old propaganda methods, spreading the same old militaristic spirit, and once again showing the world community that it will not assist in a peaceful resolation of the Karabakh problem.”
Shahin Rzayev is IWPR’s country director in Azerbaijan.
Additional reporting by Naira Melkumyan, a freelance journalist in Yerevan.
