Agence France Presse — English
April 28, 2006 Friday 5:07 PM GMT
US and Azerbaijan leaders discuss Iran, democracy, energy issues
WASHINGTON, April 28 2006
US President George W. Bush met Friday with his Azerbaijan
counterpart Ilham Aliyev for talks that centered on Iran, energy
issues and the need for the Central Asian state to implement
democratic reforms.
“We talked about the need for the world to see a modern Muslim
country that is able to provide for its citizens and that understands
that democracy is the wave of the future,” Bush told reporters after
the meeting.
He added that the two men had also discussed the nuclear standoff
with Iran and that he had assured Aliyev of Washington’s “desire to
solve this problem diplomatically and peacefully”.
Azerbaijan shares a 600-kilometer (380-mile) border with Iran and as
such is considered an important ally to the United States. Aliyev,
however, has made clear that his country would not take part in any
possible military operations against its neighbor.
The 44-year-old leader, who had sought the White House meeting since
taking office in a widely criticized election in 2003, said he hoped
to strengthen bilateral relations and welcomed Washington’s
assistance in exploiting Caspian oil and gas reserves.
“We are very grateful for the leadership of the United States in
promoting energy security issues in the region, in assisting us to
create a solid transportation infrastructure which will allow us to
develop full-scale Caspian oil and gas reserves and to deliver them
to the international markets,” he said.
Tapping into Azerbaijan’s important oil and gas reserves are seen by
Washington as a way of offsetting European dependence on Russian
energy supplies.
A 1,760-kilometer (1,100-mile) long pipeline with an annual capacity
to carry 50 million tonnes of crude oil from the Caspian Sea off
Azerbaijan through Georgia to the Turkish port of Ceyhan is expected
to begin operating this summer.
Aliyev said he had discussed in his meeting with Bush the issue of
the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which has been controlled
since the early 1990s by its majority ethnic-Armenian population, and
hoped for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
His visit to Washington has raised eyebrows in many circles, with
critics pointing to Azerbaijan’s poor human rights record and charges
by various groups — including anti-corruption watchdog Transparency
International — that the country is one of the most corrupt
worldwide.
But analysts say the Bush administration has no other option but to
befriend Aliyev, and point to Azerbaijan’s oil and gas riches and its
strategic location as the driving factor behind the warm welcome he
received at the White House.
During his four-day visit to the United States that ends Friday,
Aliyev played down concerns about human rights in his country but
pledged to continue implementing democratic reforms.
He said he was very satisfied with his visit to Washington and hoped
for continued cooperation with the United States on various fronts,
including Iraq and Afghanistan, where Azerbaijan has contributed
troops.