Azerbaijan: Russian Nuclear Plant Equipment Released to Iran

Following a delay that lasted over a month, Azerbaijan permitted Russian equipment meant for Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant to pass though its border. The diplomatic incident was defused after Moscow provided additional documentation concerning the cargo.

The Russian shipment passed into Iran on May 1. Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov had announced the previous day that Azerbaijan was satisfied with information received from the Russian Embassy in Baku. He added that Azerbaijan now "considers that the issue is over," the Turan news agency reported. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Khazar Ibrahim later confirmed this information to EurasiaNet. Neither Azimov nor the Russian Embassy in Baku elaborated on the nature of the additional information provided. Iranian officials confirmed May 3 that the cargo arrived at the intended destination.

The incident began on March 29, when Azerbaijani border guards stopped a truck and two trailers that were carrying 14 tons of heat insulation equipment from the Russian Atomstroiexport company. The equipment, valued at $170,000, was reportedly bound for Iran's nuclear power plant at Bushehr. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said that it had asked Russia to "provide more information about the type of cargo" and how it pertains to United Nations sanctions against Iran.

Azerbaijan's refusal to release the equipment sparked a diplomatic controversy. Russia maintained that the cargo already had all necessary documentation for shipment via Azerbaijan, while Iran demanded that the shipment be released immediately and without outside intervention. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Some observers in Baku had believed that Azerbaijan stopped the shipment at the request of the United States, which, they argued, is not interested in the construction of a nuclear power plant in Iran. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. However, the US Embassy in Baku strongly denied any role in the incident. "We had no involvement in the decision to stop the shipment," said embassy spokesperson Jonathan Henick. "[S]ince the shipment [for Bushehr nuclear power plant] is out of the UN sanctions, we [the US] had no interest in holding that shipment."

Like many analysts in Baku, independent political expert Ilgar Mammadov believes that the cargo seizure was related to an ongoing tug-of-war between Russia and Iran over the plant's construction, which has been complicated by delayed shipments from Russian suppliers. Mammadov suspects that Moscow probably intentionally delayed providing Baku with additional documentation in order to create plausible deniability for responsibility for the delay. "When the Azerbaijani government received the supporting documents [from Russia], the shipment was released, which shows that Baku was not interested in confiscating, or returning the cargo back to Russia," Mammadov said.

Statements made by acting Russian Security Council Secretary Valentin Sobolev on April 30 appeared to support the theory that ongoing squabbling between Moscow and Tehran was responsible for the delay. Sobolev told the official RIA Novosti news agency that Russia was prepared to fulfill "all its obligations" regarding Bushehr's construction. He then stated that a major factor behind repeated construction delays was Iran's financing difficulties. He also dropped a thinly veiled hint that disruptions created by "a third country" remained a possibility down the road.

Experts in Baku don't believe the incident will have lasting repercussions for Azerbaijani-Iranian relations. Deputy Foreign Minister Azimov stated that Iranian Ambassador Nasir Hamidi Zare was assured on April 29 that the cargo seizure had no political implications. "The ambassador was told that such issues require certain procedures, and it is normal that Azerbaijan follows them," Azimov said. "The Iranian side reacted with understanding to our explanations." In an apparent attempt to prevent further disruptions, Azerbaijani President held talks in Baku on May 5, with the commander of Iran's customs police.