Baku, Azerbaijan, March 7
By Fikret Dolukhanov – Trend:
Azerbaijan pursues a balanced foreign policy, one that seeks to maintain good relations with both the Russian Federation and the West, Jacob Kamaras, editor for the Jewish News Service of the “Daily Caller”, wrote in his article about the US—Azerbaijan relations.
Describing the large energy potential of Azerbaijan and writing about the currently on-going Southern Gas Corridor project, a $41.5 billion initiative that will help Azerbaijan to emerge as a key player in oil and natural gas exportation from the Caspian Sea basin to Europe, the author touched upon the reasons that might be holding back the development of deeper Azerbaijani-American ties.
“Look no further than Armenia and the cadre of pro-Armenian US lawmakers who veer American policy in an anti-Azerbaijani direction,” the author said.
Kamaras wrote about activity of Armenian lobbying structures and their role in money aids allocated by the US for Armenia and its occupational regime in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“In truth, any US aid to Nagorno-Karabakh serves to support an Armenian occupation that violates UN Security Council Resolutions 853, 874 and 884, as well as UN General Assembly Resolutions 19/13 and 57/298, which all affirm Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijani territory,” the author reminded.
Commenting on the foreign policy of Azerbaijan, that seeks to keep equally good relations with both the US and Russia, Kamaras said that America needs such balanced and rational allies as Azerbaijan.
“And while Azerbaijan offers the US significant potential for economic partnerships in energy and other sectors, no similar potential exists for American commerce with Armenia, which is increasingly plagued by inflation, growing poverty, a scarcity of trade partners, and a severe brain drain,” the author added.
The United States needs to wake up and realize who its real friends are, and which of its alliances have real strategic value, Kamaras concluded.