>From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 21:41:27 EDT >Subject: [STOPNATO.ORG.UK] Shifting Tides in the Caspian >Azerbaijan: Russia Worries About U.S. Gift Of Boats >By Michael Lelyveld > > >Russian State Duma Speaker Gennady Seleznyov has warned about the presence of >"alien ships" on the Caspian Sea. His concern seems to be that the United >States will gain a foothold because of two boats that are being given to >Azerbaijan for its border patrol. RFE/RL correspondent Michael Lelyveld says >the incident may highlight greater problems with arguments over terrorist >threats. > >Boston, 14 September 2000 (RFE/RL) -- Russian nationalists appear to be >worried that the United States will use the threat of terrorism in Central >Asia and the Caucasus to establish a naval presence in the Caspian Sea. > >On Tuesday, the speaker of Russia's State Duma, Gennady Seleznyov, raised the >Caspian issue during a meeting in Moscow with Iranian Ambassador Mehdi >Safari. According to reports by ITAR-TASS and the Iranian official news >agency IRNA, the two sides agreed that "vessels with military equipment >should be barred" from the Caspian as concern rises about terrorism on both >sides of the waterway. > >Seleznyov was quoted as saying, "we do not to want to see alien ships in the >Caspian. There is a need to achieve a consensus decision as soon as possible." > >Seleznyov was apparently referring to two patrol boats which the U.S. >government is reportedly providing to Azerbaijan. This week at a conference >in Washington, Steven Sestanovich, adviser to U.S. Secretary of State >Madeleine Albright on the Newly Independent States, referred to the patrol >boats as part of aid to Azerbaijan to fight terrorism and strengthen its >borders. > >A State Department official in Washington, who was checking the reports, >downplayed any reason for concern about the patrol craft. The official told >RFE/RL, "we've been working with a number of countries to help them increase >their border security. It's probably just related to that." There seems to be >no question that the boats are to be manned by Azerbaijani personnel, not >Americans. > >But the reactions of Russia and Iran may have numerous causes. Both nations >seem particularly sensitive to the potential for encroachment because of >their recent failure to agree on a legal division of the Caspian Sea. >Seleznyov may be eager to argue that Iran should reach an accommodation with >Russia over the division issue, raising the specter of foreign interference >in the absence of a unified front. > >Russia's concern over "alien ships" seems to echo its objections to a >proposal last year by former Azerbaijani presidential adviser Vafa Quluzade >for a NATO presence in Azerbaijan. Russia may feel erosion of its power in >the oil-rich Caspian region due to a meeting last week of the security >structure known GUUAM, consisting of Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, >Azerbaijan, and Moldova. Romania reportedly showed interest this week in >joining the group. > >Since July, Azerbaijan also has been wary of border problems in the Caspian >because of unverified incidents involving both Russia and Iran. Reports last >month that Iran's leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ordered a buildup of forces >on the Azerbaijani border including 34 patrol boats now appear to have been >falsified. Concerns about Russian fishing trawlers in Azerbaijani waters last >month also seem to have been overblown. > >But the alarms raised by Azerbaijani news reports have been difficult to >defuse. Russia added to the concerns by blocking truck traffic for weeks on >the Azerbaijani border, while repeatedly accusing Azerbaijan of giving >medical treatment to Chechen rebels. > >But more than anything, the Russian reaction to U.S. aid for Azerbaijan's >border security seems to show the wide range of effects from threats that >have been broadly branded as "terrorism." The label has been stretched to >cover insurgencies across a wide arc from Chechnya to Central Asia, despite >the difficulty of proving that all the problems come from the same source. > >Russia has tried to link the war in Chechnya with fighting in the Ferghana >Valley in Uzbekistan, when it has suited its purposes. The strategy has >helped to ensure there will be little sympathy for Chechen rebels among >authorities elsewhere in the CIS. But that approach has so far failed with >Iran, which has repeatedly objected to Russian actions in Chechnya and has >sent aid to refugees there. By raising fears over "alien ships," Seleznyov >may hope to create a new common cause. > >In the past week, the United States appears to have joined in the concerns >about regional security by funding a joint exercise in Kazakhstan involving >troops from nine nations, including Russia and four other CIS states. > >But so far, there have been no reports of terrorist threats to Caspian >maritime borders. The concerns have come from other shoreline nations. By >aiding Azerbaijan's ability to patrol its waters, the United States may be >trying to do little more than to strengthen the country's statehood. The >greatest danger may be in Seleznyov's interpretation that two boats donated >to Azerbaijan will create a militarization of the Caspian by "alien ships." > >Beyond that, there is the risk that arguments over terrorism will be spread >in an ever-widening circle to fit any problem that authorities perceive. It >started with Chechnya and has now made its way into the Caspian, but it seems >unlikely that all of the region's problems will respond to the same call. > > >______________________________________________________________________ >To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi _______________________________________________________ Kominform list for general information. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Anti-Imperialism list for anti-imperialist news. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________________
