Azernews.Az

Lt.-Gen. Rail Rzayev, the commander of the Azerbaijan Air Force and Air Defense Troops, has been shot dead in the capital, Baku. He was killed by an unknown gunman while in his service car last Wednesday morning.
Rzayev, 64, who also acted as Deputy Minister of Defense, died after being shot once in the head outside his home in the Yasamal district, the district prosecutor`s office said. Although the general had been rushed to a military hospital with a bullet wound, it was impossible to save his life. It has not been disclosed what weapon was fired at Rzayev.
The slain general`s driver said the incident occurred when Rzayev was being driven to work. As usual, the driver parked his car on the curb and went ahead to take the trash out. When he approached the garbage can, he said he suddenly heard the sound of a car window being broken. When he went back, he saw that the rear window behind the seat where Rzayev sat was shattered by a bullet shot and that Rzayev had been wounded. The driver immediately took the general to a hospital, but he did not survive.
Forensic experts who examined the scene have reached a preliminary conclusion that the killer had followed the general`s car for several days and committed the crime when the opportunity presented itself. Motives for the crime have yet to be established, according to officials.
Nijmedin Sadykhov, the head of the Azeri military general staff, told Lider TV that security cameras near Gen. Rzayev`s home might help catch the perpetrator.
Rzayev is the third high-ranking military official murdered in Azerbaijan since the republic gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. An admiral from the High Military Navy School, Eduard Huseynov, was killed in 1993, and the head of the Special Department under the President, Shamsi Rahimov, was murdered in 1994.
President Ilham Aliyev was on a visit to Kuwait during the incident. Although it was previously reported that he would attend a soccer match between the Azerbaijani and Kuwaiti national teams that started at 7 p.m. Baku time, the president returned home in the afternoon and held a meeting with law enforcement officials in connection with the air force commander`s murder. "I decisively condemn this bloody crime," Aliyev said.
Further, Aliyev demanded that law enforcement agencies quickly investigate the crime.
"I demand that the perpetrators and those who ordered this horrible murder be prosecuted," he said, adding that he was aware that ad hoc investigative groups had been set up for the purpose and an investigation was underway.
Aliyev said the Azerbaijani state was strong enough to defend itself and anyone trying to undermine it would be punished.
"The potential of the Azerbaijani state is immense and the perpetrators of any criminal acts against us, against our statehood and the peaceful population, must be brought to pay and they will," he pledged.
Sulhaddin Akbar, a Baku-based political analyst, said that Gen. Rzayev`s murder was a serious message to the Azerbaijani leadership.
"Azerbaijan is the only country among the former Soviet republics that has not yet made its strategic choice. As you know, the Baltic states are members of NATO. Ukraine and Georgia have officially applied for membership, Moldova and Turkmenistan proclaimed their neutrality, while the remaining seven countries, led by Russia, have set up a collective security body," the analyst said.
The murder comes at a time when a new political situation is shaping in the South Caucasus. Russia has carried out a military incursion in Georgia and is now seeking to strengthen the military power of CSTO, the group of ex-Soviet nations it dominates. This being the situation, Azerbaijan, which has yet to make its strategic choice, is likely to come under pressure. Therefore, Baku should pay special attention to this geo-political situation, Akbar said.
"I think this incident is a serious message to the Azerbaijani leadership. It should also be considered that the target has not been selected by mere chance, as the United States has, for some time, been working to establish its air defense systems here and to modernize Azerbaijan`s military airports."
Naturally, Gen. Rzayev, who headed Azerbaijan`s air force and air defense troops, was directly involved in close cooperation with the U.S. In particular, it should be noted that the murder occurred shortly after Kyrgyzstan ordered Washington to shut down its military base operating in their country.
More recently, the general was the Azerbaijani representative in the stalled negotiations between Russia and the US over the use of the Gabala radar station in Azerbaijan.
Moscow had offered Washington access to data from the Soviet-built radar station, which it leases from the Azerbaijani government, as an alternative to US plans to station elements of a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe.
Also, military analyst Uzeyir Jafarov said the reasons for Rail Rzayev`s murder should be sought based upon the post he held.
"This is a matter relating to his line of duty, as he acted as one of the top officials in the Defense Ministry for 17 years. Throughout these years he received in-depth knowledge about many issues and was in the midst of those issues himself. So, the very link of this murder with his work should definitely be scrutinized."
Some analysts` theories suggesting that the general became the victim of bickering within the top echelons of power or because of his business activities does not withstand criticism. First, it is unlikely that anyone among the top authorities would commit a reprisal of this kind against the man whom the national leader, former President Heydar Aliyev and incumbent President Ilham Aliyev, trusted with their lives as the commander of Azerbaijan`s air force. It is air force fighter jets that accompany the president`s airplane within the country`s air space.
Second, President Aliyev made it clear in his statement that the crime was politically-motivated. His remarks that the murder was aimed against Azerbaijani statehood and people could not be interpreted any differently. One may also get an impression that the president knew exactly which forces he was addressing, while the statement that Azerbaijan has vast potential might suggest that there are outside forces seeking to destabilize the country.
Third, it is worth paying attention to the sequence of developments. Azerbaijan and Russia recently conducted an angry exchange over the transfer of Russian weaponry worth $800 million to Armenia. Even after Moscow refuted the reports detailing the delivery of arms and military equipment and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had a private conversation on the issue with his counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov, Baku is refusing to take the issue off the agenda of bilateral relations. Also, David Plouffe, the former campaign manager for US President Barack Obama, has paid an "informal" visit to Azerbaijan. But despite assurances by the U.S. side, few in Azerbaijan and abroad believe in "the private nature" of this visit. However, "a warming" of the domestic political situation, although insignificant, has taken place. Then, all of a sudden, the air force commander is shot dead in broad daylight. An impression emerges that this is a clear-cut message addressed to the Azerbaijani president himself…

Biography

Rzayev was born in the Salyan district in 1945. He received his education at the missile command school named after Orjenikidze (Vladikafkaz) from 1962-66. Upon completion of his studies, he was sent back to Azerbaijan and held various posts in the Air Defense Troops.
From 1989 to 1992, Rzayev headed the maintenance base of the Air Force in Baku. In 1992 he was appointed commander of the Azerbaijan Air Force and Air Defense Troops. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-general in 2004.