BBC Monitoring Research,
17, February 2008


"Great event"

Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia was the top story in the evening news bulletin of Azerbaijan's commercial ANS television on 17 February. Presenter Mirsahin Agayev, who is a co-owner of the channel, said that the US support for "separatists" in Kosovo constituted interference with the internal affairs of the Serbian state. He hinted that the USA may also change its position on Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagornyy Karabakh in the future.

However, political analyst Vafa Quluzada, who was interviewed in ANS studio, described Kosovo's declaration of independence as a "great event" and a "positive development". "With this event, the USA increased its influence in Europe but Russia lost its influence [in Europe], as it could not support Serbia," said Quluzada, who is known for his anti-Russian rhetoric.

US support for Muslim country

Quluzada said that Kosovo's independence was also a "nice precedent" of US support for a Muslim country.

"The same will also happen in the Caucasus," he said.

Quluzada said he does not believe that Russia's "pragmatic" leadership will respond by recognizing Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Kosovo's independence showed that the USA has the final say in Europe. This also indicated that Azerbaijan is pursuing the right foreign policy - the policy of alliance with the USA and integration into NATO, Quluzada said.

The analyst believes that Kosovo will not set a precedent for Nagornyy Karabakh, as the USA and the international community recognize the region as Azerbaijani territory.

Four other Azerbaijani TV channels monitored by BBCM - AzTV, Public TV, Azad Azarbaycan and Lider - did not give prominence to the news of Kosovo's independence. They mostly focused on President Ilham Aliyev's recent statements about Azerbaijan's economic growth and the implementation of a five-year regional development programme.