Wilson Statement - 06.21.2000

 

PREPARED STATEMENT 
OF ROSS WILSON

AMBASSADOR DESIGNATE TO AZERBAIJAN

BEFORE THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS 

Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, thank you for the honor of appearing before you today in connection with my nomination to serve as ambassador to Azerbaijan. 

This is an important country with which we have a complex relationship. Four key interests drive our policy:

First, peace. More than any part of the former Soviet Union, the Caucasus has been the scene of repeated violent conflict over the past decade. Poised between Russia and Iran, Azerbaijan is key to regional peace and stability. We have worked both bilaterally and through the OSCE Minsk Group on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In the coming three years, we can and should achieve a Nagorno-Karabakh settlement and strengthen security cooperation throughout the region. 

Second, energy. Azerbaijan has large untapped oil and gas reserves. Developing those resources and getting them to international markets via multiple, east-west pipelines will advance America's energy security and that of our friends and allies. This strategy will also secure the economic independence of Azerbaijan and other new states in the region and reinforce peaceful cooperation among them. We should complete what we have started with Azerbaijan in the energy sector and further market reform that will reintegrate Azerbaijan into the global economy and ensure opportunities for U.S. business. 

Third, nonproliferation. As you well know, Mr. Chairman, Iranian efforts to develop ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons technology threaten us and our interests. For countries seeking dangerous armaments and technologies, Azerbaijan is an important transit state. We are cooperating on proliferation and export control issues, and we should continue and strengthen that work. 

Fourth, democracy. Seven years service behind the Iron Curtain at our embassies in Moscow and Prague highlighted for me the value of human liberty and freedom. Democracy, respect for human rights, and the rule of law are essential components of a free society. They cannot take a back seat to energy or nonproliferation or even regional peace because they are the guarantors of progress in each of those areas. Democratization is the only sure, long-term guarantor of of Azerbaijan's independence and prosperity and it must be a high priority for us and for the Azerbaijani people. 

The Foreign Service has prepared my wife and me well for this challenging assignment. Since joining the Service in 1979, I've spent thirteen years working in and on East-Central Europe and Eurasia, including five years in the Soviet Union, two years in Czechoslovakia, and the past three years as principal deputy to Ambassador-at-Large Stephen Sestanovich. Early in the 1990s, I had the opportunity to work in the Bush Administration for Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Robert Zoellick and, in 1992 to 1994 for Secretaries of State Baker, Eagleburger and Christopher. My wife, who is also a Foreign Service Officer, has worked extensively in this part of the world and is now completing three years on the staff of the NIS Assistance Coordinator. We will look forward to the challenge of this opportunity in Baku if you, Mr. Chairman, and your colleagues see fit to confirm me for it. 

I am deeply honored that the President has nominated me for this position and am grateful to Secretary Albright for the confidence she has showed in recommending me for it. I look forward to you questions.