US VP CHENEY ASSURES AZERBAIJAN OF U.S ‘INTEREST’
By Aida Sultanova

Associated Press
Sept 3 2008

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney assured
Azerbaijan on Wednesday of America’s "abiding interest" in the
region’s stability. It was the first stop on a tour of three ex-Soviet
republics that are wary of Russia’s intentions after its war with
Georgia last month.

Russia was watching the trip with suspicion, and a top Russian security
official accused Cheney of an ulterior motive: seeking to secure
energy supplies in the South Caucasus in exchange for U.S. support.

Cheney met with U.S. Embassy officials and international oil executives
before going to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev’s residence on the
Caspian Sea.

Cheney said the principle of territorial integrity was endangered
today, noting that they were meeting "in the shadow of the Russian
invasion of Georgia."

He added that U.S. President George W. Bush had sent him with a clear
message that the United States had a "deep and abiding interest"
in the stability and security of countries in the region.

Azerbaijan has some of the largest oil and gas reserves in the former
Soviet Union.

The U.S. vice president later was to go to neighboring Georgia,
where Washington is trying strengthen support for President Mikhail
Saakashvili’s U.S.-allied government, battered by last month’s short
war with Russia. The U.S. administration was to announce a US$1
billion economic aid package to help Georgia rebuild.

Cheney also planned to visit Ukraine, whose Western-leaning governing
coalition has been plagued in infighting and growing wariness about
Russia’s intentions.

The head of Russia’s powerful presidential Security Council criticized
Cheney’s planned tour, saying his real goal was to trade U.S. support
for energy supplies in the region, and to make sure these countries
had governments sympathetic to Washington.

"Cheney, during his visits to Georgia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine, will
try to instill in them confidence that they will receive support
of the U.S., and (he) will do it in such a way that the U.S. will
continue to wield influence on them," Nikolai Patrushev said during
a visit to neighboring Armenia.

Russia’s relations with Washington have become increasingly
tense. Since the war in Georgia, Russia has boldly asserted its right
to exert clout over what it says is its historic sphere of influence —
including many former Soviet republics.

Russia has also objected strongly to U.S. plans to place components
of a missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic —
both former Soviet satellites — as well as to Western support for
Kosovo’s independence from traditional ally Serbia.

Both Georgia and Ukraine have sought to pull themselves out from
under Russia’s shadow, pushing for membership in Western structures
such as the European Union and NATO — much to Moscow’s consternation.

Washington also has courted Azerbaijan, trying to ensure its oil
wealth is exported to the West bypassing Russia. Many European capitals
are wary of Russia and its vast oil and gas wealth after disruptions
in European-bound Russian gas and oil shipments exported via other
former Soviet republics.

The U.S. Embassy in Baku said in a statement that Cheney on Wednesday
met with local representatives of British Petroleum and Chevron
who briefed him on their "assessments of the energy situation in
Azerbaijan and the broader Caspian region — especially in light of
Russia’s recent military actions in Georgia."

Azerbaijan’s government has often been criticized by rights groups
for heavy-handed treatment of independent media and opposition
groups. International observers have said past elections were flawed.