Why is Azerbaijan postponing the visa issue?

Göknur AKÇADAĞ

Thursday, May 5, 2011

The first news I saw in the Azeri press concerning the abolishment of the visa regime between Turkey and Azerbaijan was published in November 2009. Referring to a statement from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the news article said the final decision to abolish it would be made during a visit to Turkey by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

In addition, deputy Nizami Caferov recalled that Turkey had taken the initiative on the issue in 2007, but Azerbaijan had not yet made a decision.

“There must be some reasons why Azerbaijan has delayed making a decision on this issue,” Caferov was quoted as saying at the time.

In the 2007 EU progress report on the state of Turkey’s accession to the European Union, Turkey was criticized for abolishing the visa regime for Turkic countries.

This agreement has not been realized, although the parties agreed to terms to abolish visa requirements during Mammadyarov’s visit to Turkey. Mammadyarov says there were some bureaucratic impediments. But in these cases, the protocols may be signed regardless and a deadline may be given to abolish the impediments. It is a pity they could not get to this point. What sorts of economic and political reasons may be preventing Azerbaijan from abolishing the visa regime?

We may try to find an answer for this by glancing at the Azeri press. Rövşen Ağayev, an economic expert, states there are no economic reasons to abolish the visa for Turkish citizens by Azerbaijan, but that this is a political and legal issue.

“There are simple reasons behind the issues that seem to be difficult to understand outside. The Azeri authorities and bureaucrats do not want to lose any monetary resource. Therefore they haven’t abolished the visa regime for Iran and Turkey,” political scientist Zerdüşt Alizade explains.

Fuat Kahramanlı, deputy chairman of the Popular Front of Azerbaijan, claims the government does not want to abolish the visa regime as the problem has not been solved so far and the Azeri side has produced a lot of excuses.

“It thinks the Azeri government sees it as a worrying issue for its power; therefore, the solution is being delayed. In my opinion the will of Russia on this issue may be considered. Azerbaijan, by not solving the problem, gives a message to Russia implying that she is closer to and more intimate with Russia. But whatever may come, not solving the problem makes relations more tense,” Kahramanlı says.

His statement summarizes the reaction inside Azerbaijan, where there have been some comments attributing the problem to the Karabakh issue.

Regnum, in its news article titled “Does the Power Party of Azerbaijan Oppose the Abolishment of Visa Regime with Turkey?” mentioned discussions in the Azerbaijan National Assembly during the Feb. 22 session about the abolishment of the visa regime between Turkey and Azerbaijan. Fazıl Mustafa, chairman of the Great Creation Party, proposed that visa restrictions be annulled between two countries.

“The visa implementation for Turkey must be eliminated as it was with Georgia. This will be in favor of the strategic interests of Azerbaijan,” Mustafa said.

A deputy of the New Azerbaijan Party, the power party, Siyavuç Novruzov, was in favor of abolishing the visa regime, proposing a free moving application initially between Turkey and Azerbaijan in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. In addition, the Azeri sources wrote that the visit of Erdoğan to Azerbaijan was postponed several times due to the difference of opinion that arose between Baku and Ankara on this issue.

My fellow countryman can go to Azerbaijan without a visa as my Azeri brother comes to Turkey freely

Turkish State Minister Zafer Çağlayan, who spoke at the Turkish-Azeri Business Council, said the impediments to developing trade between Turkey and Azerbaijan should be eliminated. He asked Azerbaijan to abolish the visa regime enforced for Turkish citizens and sign the free trade agreement soon. He emphasized that the visa problem was not related to the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations.

“The visa issue is a psychologically important matter for Turkey. This is not a monetary issue. Azerbaijan does not enforce the visa for the citizens of Russia and the Turkic countries. I hope Azerbaijan is seeking a way to abolish it soon,” said Çağlayan.

When we look at recent Turkish-Azeri relations, the “Armenian initiative,” which cooled relations two years ago, is not on the agenda now. Prime Minister Erdoğan explained clearly several times that the interests of Azerbaijan would be defended. The main argument of those who oppose the abolishment of a visa regime in Azerbaijan is that there are some groups that do not like Turkey and Azerbaijan and they may come to Azerbaijan to involve themselves in opposition activity.

Possibly for Azerbaijan the visa issue is considered in parallel to other political and economic developments. For example, the problems of natural gas and the Nabucco project between the two countries have not been solved yet. Azerbaijan is a party that does not want Turkey to have the authority to re-import the natural gas of Şahdeniz. There are negotiations underway to sell this natural gas directly to European countries. Despite it being said that relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan are perfect, there is ambiguity about some issues. It is also likely that Azerbaijan may take a decision on the visa issue according to the stance of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, after the June elections.

We often stress the will of Russia while suggesting that the problems related to the Caucasus must be solved amongst the regional countries. Though it was expected that Azerbaijan would make her decision on the visa with her belated willpower before Russia, this retardation has created a serious trouble between the two brother countries. Turkey expects the visa problem to be eliminated as soon as possible.

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Göknur Akçadağ is an assistant professor at Yıldız Technical University’s Department of Humanities and Social Sciences.

hurriyetdailynews.com

06.05.2011