By Armen Gevorgyan

President Ilham Aliyev has actually boycotted the sitting of the Standing Committee on Economic and Commercial Cooperation, Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), in Istanbul. Deputy Minister of Economic Development Sevinj Gasanova is representing Azerbaijan, which is unequivocal evidence of deeper political disagreements between Baku and Ankara. The other OIC member-states are represented by the Presidents and Prime Ministers.

What is more, Azerbaijani Vice-Premier Abid Sharifov attended a reception at the Turkish Embassy in Baku on the occasion of Turkey’s Independence Day, while President Ilham Aliyev visited a Russian village in one of the regions thereby trying to suggest a threat of Baku’s “geopolitical turn.”

It is worth recalling Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s statement during his recent visit to Kuwait. The Armenian leader stated that Azerbaijan is manipulating the OIC member-states, trying to cash in on religious solidarity. “A lack of awareness of the Artsakh problem, Azerbaijan’s impermissible attempts to cash in on the factor of religious solidarity often result in wrong decisions made by the Organization of Islamic Conference,” the Armenian leader stated at his meeting with the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah IV Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

In this respect, the Azeri leaders not participating in the Istanbul sitting meets Armenia’s interests. The participants themselves will be able to understand the policy of Azerbaijan, which is trying to reap dividends from the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process irrespective of the international agencies’ aims. It is common knowledge that even the projects implemented by the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC), which aims at creating conditions for the region’s economic and communication integration, encounter obstacles set by Azerbaijan.

President Aliyev’s visit to the Russian village is a “touching” signal for Moscow: “if our Turkish brothers are befooling us, we are ready to befool them in a team with Russians.” Aliyev has made initial steps by signing a contract for the supply is a symbolic amount of gas to Russia with Gasprom. The Azeri leader must have thought that his step would help him to gain Moscow’s favor to an extent that it would revise its position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and its relations with Armenia. We see, however, that Russia is among the key lobbyists for the unblocking of the Armenian-Russian border, as it is in Armenia, rather than in Azerbaijan, that Russia has its only military base in the region, which is actually blocked as well.

Russia has actually created a powerful energy basis in Armenia and is preparing for exporting energy to Turkey. Russia is getting ready to open a window on Iran in Armenia. And, finally, Russia will participate in a nuclear-power plant construction project in Armenia. The “anti-Russian” Transcaspian gas pipeline, which has not so far been constructed, may well run southward, to Armenia through Iran, and will thus serve the interests of Armenia and Russia – and, incidentally, of Turkey.

So President Ilham Aliyev can be advised to visit a Georgian village when the OIC holds its next meeting. Azerbaijan, with its limited gas reserves and lack of direct communication with Central Asia, appears to be of interest to Georgia alone. We would like to warn the Azeri leader against visiting Kvemo Kartli, which is part of the Georgian territory. Azerbaijan is known to respect that country’s territorial integrity, Georgia being Azerbaijan’s partner within GUAM.