THE DOORS TO WTO WILL BE CLOSED FOR AZERBAIJAN

PanARMENIAN.Net - The official Baku has informed the WTO administration that it is not going to start trade-economic relations with Armenia until it liberates the occupied territory and until Yerevan recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Commenting on this, the WTO heads stress that the membership of Azerbaijan is possible only in case if it fulfills the liabilities foreseen in the legislation. “The rules of the WTO are equal for everybody, and no exceptions will be made,” representative of the organization “Buz-Alen Hamilton” said recently. The expert said that either the Baku authorities would give up the idea of becoming member of the WTO, or they would have to follow the rules.

“In case of a membership in the WTO the government will not have the right to hinder the commercial deals being concluded between the residents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Besides, it will be impossible to prohibit that the Armenian products appear in the markets,” the expert says. We shall note that despite Azerbaijan, Armenia, which is a full member of the WTO, is not trying to make the international organizations a field of a conflict with its neighboring state. Moreover, the official Yerevan made it understand that despite the difficult relations with Baku, it would not use its right of veto during the discussion of the issue of Azerbaijan’s membership in the WTO. All the issues are being solved on the basis of a consensus in the WTO and one against vote is enough for refusing the membership. (We shall remind that Armenia did not impede Azerbaijan’s membership in the World Organization of Aviation. In response, following their liabilities, the Azerbaijani aviators last December were obliged to serve a plane going to Yerevan which made a forced landing in the “Bina” airport of Baku).

Nevertheless, the Azerbaijani authorities assure their citizens that the government will not give up to the pressure from the West and will not agree to remove the blockade even for the sake of membership in the WTO. But it was not only the unwillingness to trade with Yerevan that hindered it. Azerbaijan is the only country of the region which failed the economic reforms which were a condition for the membership in the WTO. Besides, ultimately it has serious contradictions with the International Monetary Fund.

We shall remind that the government of Azerbaijan decided to ignore the IMF recommendations meant for restricting the influence of subjective factors on the fiscal system. The country’s authorities despite the requirements of the tax code, decided to separate the state oil fund from the state budget and to liberate its administration from the obligation to report to the parliament. So, the legislative authorities were deprived of the mechanisms of control over the expenditures of the oil fund.

There are enough confirmations of the fact that the conflict between the Azerbaijani government and the IMF will be reflected on the perspective of the country’s membership in the WTO. IMF Representative in Baku Michael Mered said recently: “The IMF is a global institute, and its approval would help the government to establish good relationship with other institutes as well”. This diplomatically formulated phrase in fact means that the fund would like to have Azerbaijan refused in its membership in the WTO.

So, it becomes evident that the doors of the WTO will be closed for Baku in the nearest future.