[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 109 (Tuesday, July 29, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H5992]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SPECIAL ORDER CONCERNING THE VISIT OF PRESIDENT HEYDAR ALIYEV OF 
                               AZERBAIJAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Porter] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, tonight I have requested some time to bring 
to the attention of my colleagues an important visit to Washington 
which is taking place right now. Tomorrow President Heydar Aliyev of 
Azerbaijan will meet with President Clinton at the White House to 
discuss United States-Azeri relations and the ongoing negotiations 
concerning the situation in the Caucasus. This visit has serious 
implications for our policies and interests in the region, and I am 
hopeful that it will be used to further the interests of peace.
  Azerbaijan is rich in oil and natural gas resources and there are 
numerous United States companies which are actively seeking to assist 
in the development of these resources. I believe very strongly that 
United States companies have the technology and know-how to bring about 
this development in a way that ultimately would be most beneficial to 
the Azeri people. But these companies, and their representatives in 
Washington, have been pushing very hard to reshape U.S. policies in 
this region. I am very concerned that in their efforts to improve the 
relative position of Azerbaijan, they would tilt United States 
involvement in this very sensitive and important region in a way that 
will have a serious negative impact on negotiations which are currently 
underway in the region. I have watched with dismay as a campaign to 
repeal section 907 of the Freedom Support Act has been undertaken by 
our administration and by those with economic interests in the region, 
because I believe that this approach is counterproductive--indeed 
dangerous--to negotiations regarding the future of Nagorno Karabakh. In 
this regard, the House Foreign Operations subcommittee has worked to 
provide an evenhanded framework for United States policy which 
recognizes the need for objective dealings and for improving the 
climate for democracy in the region. If we tip the scale in favor of 
Azerbaijan, they will no longer have an incentive to negotiate in good 
faith on a permanent solution to the Nagorno Karabakh situation. This 
would be a great tragedy, because the termination of the negotiations 
brought on by a change of United States policy would almost certainly 
bring a return of armed hostilities between Armenian and Azeri. The 
world was horrified by the brutality of the last round of fighting in 
this tiny enclave, and we as a nation have invested a great deal in 
efforts to avoid a repeat of that bloodshed.
  As the Minsk Group negotiations on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict 
continue, we must press upon all parties that inherent benefits they 
will receive from working together and establishing normal relations 
with one another. I firmly believe that it is in the long-term 
interests of these countries to find solutions that they can live with, 
where there will be peace, security, and prosperity for everyone in the 
region. The building of an oil pipeline in the region could be a 
tremendous positive force which brings these two old adversaries 
together and causes them to deal with each other in a mutually 
beneficial way. Azerbaijan cannot realize its full promise as a source 
of energy resources or as a legitimate player in the region until it 
makes peace with its neighbors and develops a better reputation for 
fair dealing. Armenia cannot wean itself from foreign assistance or 
fully develop its economy until the blockades it currently suffers 
under are gone and better relations are established with its neighbors 
to the East and Southwest. Moreover, both Russia and Iran stand ready 
to fill the political vacuums in both of these countries that will 
doubtlessly arise if there are not soon permanent solutions to the 
problems which plague them both.
  Azerbaijan and Armenia both have everything to gain from better 
relations with one another. The United States must be an honest broker 
in the region, and must take into account the history of this conflict 
in evaluating the posture it should adopt toward each of these 
countries, both in the context of the Minsk Group talks and in one-on-
one communications. The time has come for both countries to disregard 
the old zero sum game mentality that has been thoroughly discredited in 
the post-cold-war world. This would be a win-win situation for both 
Azerbaijan and Armenia, if only they will look for creative ways to 
solve their problems and work together. For its part, the United States 
should continue to push both countries to make appropriate concessions 
and to work on internal problems which are effecting their external 
disputes.
  I believe both of these countries are important to U.S. interests in 
the region and we must do all that we can to bring them together, not 
only for our benefit but for the benefit of the parties as well. I 
believe that the language we have included in the Foreign Operations 
bill will bring us closer to this goal by providing for humanitarian 
assistance to all needy people in the region and allowing democracy 
building assistance to go to Azerbaijan for the first time. These are 
important steps in the right direction. I hope that tomorrow when 
President Clinton speaks with Mr. Aliyev, he will deliver some straight 
talk about the need to compromise and be a responsible player at home 
and abroad. I also hope that this visit by President Aliyev will be 
followed by an invitation to President Ter Petrossian of Armenia. 
Finally, I hope that in the end, the policies we adopt and implement, 
and the agreement which is reached by the parties, are driven by 
concepts of justice, fairness, international law, and an understanding 
by the parties that such a settlement is ultimately their best hope for 
the future.

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