Palestinian bid for statehood faces rocky road as new UN Security council members announced

[Jefferson23]

Azerbaijan joins Morocco, Pakistan, Guatemala, and Togo as non-permanent members, in what is shaping to be a more U.S.-friendly UNSC.
By Shlomo Shamir

After 16 rounds voting, going back to last weekend, Azerbaijan was voted in as the fifth non-permanent Security Council member on Tuesday, ahead of key UN discussions of a Palestinian bid for statehood.

Azerbaijan's gambit was all but assured after Slovenia announced it had withdrawn its bid for non-permanent UNSC member.

The central-Asia nation joins the four other non-permanent members due to take their seat come January 2012, Morocco, Pakistan, Guatemala, and Togo.

Elections for new UNSC members drew much attention this time around, over an expected vote in the Security Council over whether or not to accept the Palestinian bid for full UN membership.

in full: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/palestinian-bid-for-statehood-faces-rocky-road-as-new-un-security-council-members-announced-1.391959

[azurnoir]

1. thanks so that's why the attempt to stall and dither

on the Palestinian bid

[Jefferson23]

2. Take any advantage you can I guess. n/t

[shaayecanaan]

3. I wouldnt make any assumptions about Azerbaijan

it is a Turkic country and by and large its relationship with Turkey takes centre stage. While it does have a relationship with the US, it is probably aware that the US gains as much by it as the other way around.

The Azeris are also the blood-sworn enemies of the Armenians, and fought an unsuccessful war with them over the disputed province of Nagorno-Karabakh in 1994. Israel has currently made gestures towards recognising the Armenian genocide following its recent fracas with Turkey, and a parliamentary motion recognising the genocide has been referred to a committee of the Israeli Knesset. My guess is it will probably stay there if the Azeri vote in the Security Council ends up being a pivotal one.

[oberliner]

4. Azerbaijan will support Palestine's UN bid

Azerbaijan will support Palestine at the UN General Assembly, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov said at a conference marking the 20th anniversary of Azerbaijan’s state independence.

"Azerbaijan is a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Generally, Azerbaijan is a state representing the Islamic world. We should surely support Palestine and Azerbaijan has always supported Palestine at the UN General Assembly," Azimov said.

http://azerbaijan-unsc.com/articles/60/1/

[shaayecanaan]

5. A carefully worded sentence: "Azerbaijan will support Palestine at the UN General Assembly"

It will be interesting to see how they go in the SC, particularly given the last paragraph of the article that you posted.

[oberliner]

6. The last paragraph in the article that I posted?

There is nothing in it that seems interesting.

In fact, it seems to be translated quite oddly:

Azimov said a certain way-out should be found in this regard. A possibility of finding such a way-out is observed, given the recent statements by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Head of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas, he said.

I don't completely get what it means.