Azeri President Ilkham Aliyev (1961- ), greeting a war widow from the tragic Karabakh War. May God grant peace to that troubled region.
US Vice President Dick Cheney finished his tour of the South Caucasus undertaken to strengthen Washington’s positions in the fight for Caspian energy. Talks in Baku failed, when President Ilkham Aliyev did not give Cheney a warm welcome. Moreover, he hinted that Azerbaijan would not support the idea of rerouting energy resources to bypass Russia. His decision was prompted by the developments in Georgia. Sources in Mr Aliyev’s administration said the talks, which focused on the war in Georgia and the Nabucco gas pipeline project, were difficult. Mr Aliyev hinted that he appreciated good relations with Washington, but, he would not quarrel with Moscow.
In fact, Baku decided to wait and see what happens next. The sources say Mr Cheney was seriously disappointed with the talks and even refused to attend a party in his honour. Mr Aliyev’s unwillingness to support Washington or to quarrel with Moscow is logical. Azerbaijan views Georgia’s loss of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and the fact that Russian tanks advanced as far as Tbilisi, as a signal to all regional countries contemplating NATO membership. Besides, Azerbaijan is sustaining heavy losses from the suspension of its energy exports to the West due to the 12 August explosion at the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, blamed on the Kurdistan Workers Party, and halted operation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline and the Baku-Supsa oil pipeline.
Baku has no complaints with Moscow. On the contrary, it thanked Russia for sparing the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan facilities during the bombing of Georgia. Azerbaijan may review its policy regarding pipelines across Georgia, as it has now become safer to transport gas to Europe across Russia. Sources in the Russian energy sector said Azerbaijan had increased supplies through the Baku-Novorossiysk oil pipeline. In June this year, the Russian energy giant Gazprom proposed that it could buy all of Azerbaijan’s gas exports at European prices. During his visit to Baku in July, President Dmitri Medvedev agreed with Mr Aliyev to discuss the possibility. The talks may now be held sooner than planned, and Russia-Azerbaijan rapprochement will gather momentum.
5 September 2008
Komersant (The Businessman)
Quoted in RIA-Novosti
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20080905/116583221.html (in English)
