New Delhi
18 March 2008
In a move reminiscent of her vote against Iran in the International
Atomic Energy Agency, India has quietly overturned her decade-long policy of voting for,
or abstaining from, any United Nations resolution on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Nagorno-Karabakh is an ethnic Armenian enclave located within the internationally
recognised borders of Azerbaijan. It has been the subject of a fierce territorial dispute
between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
On March 14, India joined Angola, Armenia, France, Russia, the United States and
Vanuatu in voting against the United Nations (UN) General Assembly resolution in which
Azerbaijan called for the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian
forces "from all the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan". Thirty-nine
countries voted for the resolution, many of whom are members of the Organisation of the
Islamic Conference (or OIC). One hundred countries abstained.
The Government of Azerbaijan on Monday summoned Mr MM Gayen from the Indian
Embassy in Baku and lodged a protest at what it called an "unfriendly" step. Azeri
Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov told the Indian diplomat that the reasons that
impelled India to vote against the resolution remain vague to his country. Mr Khalafov
sought to suggest that a negative vote was all the more jarring because India has
consistently defended international norms and principles of international law, including
the principle of territorial integrity of the states.
In New Delhi, Azeri Ambassador to India Dr Tamerlan Karayev told this newspaper that
India's vote was "unexpected" because previously India was either supporting or
abstaining during voting in the UN. "This time we requested India to support us. We
expected India to support the resolution or remain neutral," he said.
"When our relations with India are developing positively, this step of India is unexpected
and regrettable," Dr Karayev said. "Doesn't India recognise the territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan? Or is India with hundreds of ethnic minorities in its territory intending to
justify separatism? That is not clear to us," he wondered.
The Ministry of External Affairs demurred by saying that India's vote was consistent with
the policies of the Government of India and that the Minsk Group . India's voting pattern
suggests otherwise.
India voted for the resolutions or amendments to the resolution on four occasions in
1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999. Since 2000, India has chosen to abstain on at least four
occasions, most recently in 2005.
This is the first time India has voted against a resolution along with the Minsk Group
countries -- the US, Russia and France. Incidentally, even the United Kingdom and
Japan, who are among the staunchest allies of the US, abstained, along with China,
Germany and others.
The Minsk Group was created in 1992 by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation
in Europe to encourage a peaceful, negotiated resolution to the conflict between
Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. France, Russia and the US are the co-
chairs of this group. It has 10 other countries as members.
The turbulence in the Indo-Azeri ties comes ahead of likely visits to Baku by Union
Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi and Union Minister of State of External
Affairs E Ahamed. From the Azeri side, the Speaker of the Azeri Parliament and the
ministers of foreign affairs, economic development and information technology are likely
to visit India.
In April 2007 Union Minister of State of Commerce Jairam Ramesh visited Azerbaijan for
signing an agreement to set up a Joint Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade. Both
countries agreed to cooperate in several areas including oil and gas sector. He also
articulated India's interests in exploring for gold in Azerbaijan.
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