What is behind Joe Biden's official letter to Azerbaijani President?
By Akbar Hasanov
US President Joe Biden sent a congratulatory letter to the head of our state, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of May 28 - Independence Day. And in this letter, not only its fact is important, but also a number of conceptual points that you should pay special attention to in order to understand the essence of the message of the head of the American state.
"The partnership between Azerbaijan and the United States has ensured development in the region. Together we fight terrorism, take measures against drug trafficking and prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction," Biden said in a letter.
And this is a very subtle and clear message. To whom? First of all, Iran.
To be convinced of this, it suffices to recall the March statement by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, made during a hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"Azerbaijan has a long border with Iran, which needs to be protected," he said then, arguing for the suspension of Article 907 and the US military assistance to Azerbaijan.
This statement by Blinken proved the understanding of the importance of Azerbaijan in the United States and was bad news for both Armenia and Iran. And now, we have seen that exactly the same is said in the congratulatory letter sent by Joe Biden.
Yes, he did not openly mention Iran, but according to various estimates, the IRGC and its affiliated companies control between a third and a half of Iran's economy. And, what is especially important in this context, the IRGC also has huge incomes from drug trafficking. According to the information we have, the IRGC established a warehouse for the storage and transit of drugs in the Jabrayil region of Azerbaijan during the period of the Armenian occupation of these territories. For many years, it was to this warehouse that members of the international drug traffic brought drugs. All this is probably known in the United States.
They also know that Azerbaijan demonstrates an example of a competent and truly independent foreign policy, which was reflected in the opening of our country's embassy in Israel, in the development of relations with the Jewish state. Plus, the United States is well aware of the fact that Iran, which is under US sanctions, is comprehensively developing relations with Armenia.
And this fact not only nullifies any arguments about any possibility for Armenia to follow the path of developing relations with the United States and with the West in general. This fact clearly hints that Armenia can be involved in Iranian projects to spread drugs in the world. Let me remind you that recently the Italian financial guard found 2,734 kilograms of cocaine in containers in the port of Gioia Tauro (Calabria). The cargo was heading from Ecuador to Armenia through the Georgian Batumi, and the narcotic substance was hidden in boxes with bananas.
Armenian experts have already calculated that the total turnover of drugs in Armenia has reached about 4 tons, which is about $1 billion. They emphasize that this process is "protected" by the Armenian authorities. Accordingly, at a time when US President Biden emphasizes the crucial role of Azerbaijan in curbing drug trafficking in the world, Iran and Armenia, on the contrary, are helping to deepen this problem and profit from drug trafficking.
There is another important point in Biden's letter to the head of our state, Ilham Aliyev.
"During Russia's brutal war against the Ukrainian people, we were together in ensuring the energy security of Europe," the letter says.
Azerbaijan has always openly, clearly, loudly declared its support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Moreover, the other day the visit of Vice-Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Olena Kondratyuk took place in Baku.
While in Baku, she repeatedly expressed her gratitude to Azerbaijan, which from the first days of the war provided Ukraine with assistance - about $ 20 million in various humanitarian aspects: food, medicine, medical equipment, generators, transformers and other types of support. In addition, assistance is provided in the field of rehabilitation - Azerbaijan received 87 children last year for rehabilitation.
Let me also remind you that since the first days of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, the SOCAR representative office in Ukraine has taken important measures in support of Ukraine. In particular, more than 200,000 liters of fuel were donated to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. All this, of course, is seen and appreciated not only in Ukraine, but also in the United States.
The United States also notes the most important role of Azerbaijan in ensuring the energy security of Europe. This is what strengthens the position of our state in the world, proving Azerbaijan's readiness and ability to pursue a truly independent foreign policy. This is especially evident against the backdrop of news about how Armenia is helping Russia avoid Western sanctions, for which sanctions are already being imposed against Armenian companies.
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