US TO URGE PEACE ON GARABAGH DURING ALIYEV’S TALKS – CRISIS GROUP REP

ASSA-IRADA, Azerbaijan
April 27 2006

Baku, April 26, AssA-Irada
Energy and security issues will be in focus at the upcoming meeting
of President Ilham Aliyev visiting the United States with his
counterpart George Bush, says the project director on South Caucasus
of the International Crisis Group, an organization working to prevent
conflicts worldwide.

“This will be Aliyev’s first visit to the US and it is beyond a doubt
that one of the reasons he had been invited to the White House is
related to Iran’s nuclear ambitions,” Sabine Frasier said.

She said that if the United States aspires to safeguard its
security and energy interests, it will focus on the unresolved
Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict.

“USA should be interested in the conflict resolution, as the territory
hosting the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil export pipeline, as well as the
Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline considered an important element of
Western energy security, is 30 miles away from the conflict zone.”

The ICG representative said that during the talks, US officials will
openly say to President Aliyev that a military option to solve the
Garabagh problem is unacceptable.

“Moreover, the US should urge Azerbaijan to sign a broad and
comprehensive peace accord. As the first step toward this, President
Aliyev should create conditions for relations between the Azerbaijani
and Armenian people.”

Frasier said that if the US is trying to achieve long-term Azeri
support in its policy on Iran and the entire region, the best
alternative would be for Washington to ensure a peaceful settlement
of the Garabagh dispute.

“So long as the conflict remains unresolved, Azerbaijan will not be
interested in spoiling its developing relations with Iran. And the
other way round, if Azerbaijan decides to use military action in
Upper Garabagh, located near Iran’s border in the north, this could
compromise US energy and security interests and lead to a suspension
of foreign investment in the Azerbaijani economy.”

Commenting on the ICG official’s statement, the Azeri Foreign
Ministry spokesman Tahir Taghizada said America’s interests indeed
cover ensuring security and stability in the region.

“However, peaceful settlement of the Garabagh conflict is not related
to the BTC pipeline,” he said.