U.S. RISKS TO LOOSE KEY ALLY IN CAUCUASUS- AZERBAIJANI OFFICIAL

Yerkir
22.04.2010 16:04
Yerevan

Yerevan (Yerkir) – It is high time for the United States and Europe
to adopt a fair position and to prevent the narrow interests of
their Armenian lobbies from prevailing over justice and their own
national interests, Novruz Mammadov, the head of the Foreign Relations
Department of the presidential administration of Azerbaijan, has said
in his commentary published by the RFE/RL.

"In any event, attempts to pressure Ankara to abandon Azerbaijan
are shortsighted and likely to backfire. Azerbaijan and Turkey are
strategic allies with deep historical ties. Turkey has played an
important role in Azerbaijan’s partnership with the West on key
security and energy projects. Azerbaijan spearheaded the opening of
Caspian energy resources to the West and insisted that major oil and
gas pipelines be routed through Georgia and Turkey," he wrote.

Baku has also wholeheartedly supported U.S. security initiatives
by sending troops to Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Azerbaijan also
provides supply-transit support for the NATO effort in Afghanistan.

Those who know the region understand the significant risks Azerbaijan
took and the pressure it overcame in order to pursue close cooperation
with the West on energy and security issues.

Long-term peace and normalization of relations in the South Caucasus
cannot be achieved by rewarding aggression and by excluding the
region’s strategically most important country. By pushing Turkey
to abandon Azerbaijan, the United States risks alienating one of its
most important and reliable partners in a critical region of the world.