U.S. deeply concerned by bellicose statements made by senior Azerbaijani officials

PanARMENIAN.Net - By no means is Turkey Armenia's only problem in the region, according to the chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Relations Committee.



"I'm deeply concerned by the series of increasingly bellicose statements made over the past year about Nagorno Karabakh by senior Azerbaijani officials, as well as the steady increase in Azerbaijan's defense budget as that nation acquires more oil wealth. The serious breakdown earlier this year in the 14-year-old cease-fire has been widely blamed on Azerbaijani provocations," Congressman Howard Berman said in his remarks during the House Foreign Affairs Committee's "The Caucasus: Frozen Conflicts and Closed Borders" hearing.



Turning to Georgia, Mr Berman said, "In recent weeks, we've seen increasingly aggressive Russian behavior toward the region of Abkhazia: Moscow has established official ties with the separatist government there, issued passports and citizenship to its residents, dispatched a Russian jet to down a Georgian reconnaissance craft, and deployed railway troops to the region under dubious pretenses."



He also addressed an issue with long-term implications for U.S. foreign policy throughout the region: the prospect of democratization and political development in the South Caucasus. "Lately in the wake of elections in the region, there has been a worrying trend of large-scale protests and forceful police reaction. This explosive combination has the effect of silencing the opposition and strengthening ruling political regimes in a region that is still struggling to establish its democratic credentials," he said.



"Last fall, the Georgian government imposed a sweeping state of emergency following demonstrations by thousands of protesters over a government that appeared out of touch with the people. Armenia experienced violent clashes that left eight people dead following March presidential elections. And Azerbaijan could suffer a similar fate during its presidential elections in October, as the government is already cracking down on the media and opposition," Congressman Berman said.