Menu
Latest
Menu
Latest
Commentary

A week is a long time in Iran-Azerbaijan relations. Iran summons Azerbaijani Ambassador as relations swing from good to bad again.

18 March 2012

A British Prime Minister once famously said that a week is a long time in politics. In relations between Iran and Azerbaijan however a week seems like eternity. The difficult and complex relationship between the two countries continues to swing from good to bad to good again... and back.

A few days ago the Foreign Ministers of Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkey met in the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan and issued a declaration where they promised friendship to each other. The Iranian Foreign Minister on that occasion described the three countries as "three bodies in one spirit". Then one week ago the Defence Minister of Azerbaijan, Colonel General Safar Abiyev visited Tehran for meetings with President Ahmedinajad and other officials. Both sides promised not to let their territories to be used against each other, and again promised eternal friendship. The Defence Minister had hardly arrived back from Tehran however before an announcement from Baku stated that 22 people had been arrested for working for Iran's Revolutionary Guards, and for planning acts of sabotage in Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani Ministry of State Security issued a detailed list of accusations showing collusion between Iran and anti state forces in Azerbaijani over a period of many years.

Now the Iranian Foreign Ministry has summoned the Azerbaijani Ambassador to Tehran to receive a protest against the accusations which Tehran attributes to foreign powers. The Azerbaijani news agency APA stated that the Azerbaijani Ambassador "declared Azerbaijan's intention to expand ties with Iran" and promised to convey the message to his government.

Commonspace.eu political editor said in a comment that "Azerbaijan finds itself in a very delicate position as it tries to manage its relationship with a difficult but important neighbour. Neither side wants an outright breakdown in relations but both sides are pushing their own agendas. The wider international context makes this situation dangerous. There are elements within the Iranian state that do not operate within the broader chain of command, and amongst these is the Revolutionary Guards Movement, which is a kind of parallel state with huge resources at its disposal, and military forces that are stronger than those of the regular armed forces. These elements have been most active in trying to export revolutionary zeal beyond Iran's borders and Azerbaijan has been an obvious target because of its proximity and Shia traditions."

So this week starts with Azerbaijani-Iranian relations being very bad, but one does not know how the week will end.

source: commonspace.eu with APA

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged
Trending

Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

9 June 2021
Borrell underlined that the European Union will make every effort to support the peace process and to remain a committed partner to the Afghan people. "Of course, we will have to take into account the evolving situation, but disengagement is not an option.  We are clear on that: there is no alternative to a negotiated political settlement, through inclusive peace talks.
Editor's choice
News
Tens of thousands of people protest in Georgia against "foreign agents" law
Trending

Tens of thousands of people protest in Georgia against "foreign agents" law

29 April 2024
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Sunday evening, to protest against a proposed law that would brand most of the country's civil society organisations as "foreign agents" for receiving financial support from overseas sources. With the government defiant, the country appears to be heading for one of its most acute political crisis in decades. The decision of the Georgian Dream government to defy the country’s president, opposition, civil society, and practically the entire international community, by re-introducing a controversial law which will categorise most civil society organisations as “foreign agents” has created a deep rift, with both sides adamant that they will take the issue “to the end” In the last few days, the streets of Tbilisi have been taken over by continuous mass rallies with the slogan “Yes to Europe, No to Russian Law”. Until last night protestors lacked  a critical mass, but this has now changed. The protests are led mainly by youth and student organisations. The largely discredited Georgian opposition appears content to support the protests from behind.  So far there have been only a few incidents, but as the number of protestors grows, this can change very quickly. In the mean time the government will today bring out its own supporters on the streets. The European Parliament last week called for sanctions against Georgian leaders, including the Honorary President and founder of Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili. It is unlikely that the European Commission and European Council will do so yet, but this option is now seen not only as a distinct possibility, but as being inevitable if the Georgian government pushes ahead with the controversial law. Events on the ground will determine how fast things will move. Georgia faces difficult parliamentary elections in the autumn, but it seems the current crisis will come to a head before then.

Popular

Editor's choice
News
Tens of thousands of people protest in Georgia against "foreign agents" law
Trending

Tens of thousands of people protest in Georgia against "foreign agents" law

29 April 2024
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Sunday evening, to protest against a proposed law that would brand most of the country's civil society organisations as "foreign agents" for receiving financial support from overseas sources. With the government defiant, the country appears to be heading for one of its most acute political crisis in decades. The decision of the Georgian Dream government to defy the country’s president, opposition, civil society, and practically the entire international community, by re-introducing a controversial law which will categorise most civil society organisations as “foreign agents” has created a deep rift, with both sides adamant that they will take the issue “to the end” In the last few days, the streets of Tbilisi have been taken over by continuous mass rallies with the slogan “Yes to Europe, No to Russian Law”. Until last night protestors lacked  a critical mass, but this has now changed. The protests are led mainly by youth and student organisations. The largely discredited Georgian opposition appears content to support the protests from behind.  So far there have been only a few incidents, but as the number of protestors grows, this can change very quickly. In the mean time the government will today bring out its own supporters on the streets. The European Parliament last week called for sanctions against Georgian leaders, including the Honorary President and founder of Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili. It is unlikely that the European Commission and European Council will do so yet, but this option is now seen not only as a distinct possibility, but as being inevitable if the Georgian government pushes ahead with the controversial law. Events on the ground will determine how fast things will move. Georgia faces difficult parliamentary elections in the autumn, but it seems the current crisis will come to a head before then.