Futile Talisman
01-21-2006, 09:44 PM
Recently there was discussion that Azerbaijan could be used as a base of operations for US forces against Iran, another prospective.
As the international community debates ways to respond to Iran’s nuclear research, Azerbaijan has begun to explore new avenues of cooperation with the Persian Gulf state – a trend that local analysts say could present Baku with a difficult decision if Iran is referred to the United Nations Security Council for potential punitive measures.
In recent weeks, representatives of President Ilham Aliyev’s administration and the government have emphasized Azerbaijan’s neutrality in the increasingly bitter dispute between Tehran and the international community over the Islamic Republic’s decision to resume nuclear testing.
Questioned about Azerbaijan’s position on the Iranian nuclear program, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov commented in a December 2005 interview with EurasiaNet that "the development of peaceful nuclear programs is a sovereign right of every nation which chooses to do so."
On January 16, roughly a week after Iran defied an international ban to resume testing, an Azerbaijani foreign ministry spokesperson stated that Baku’s policy position remains unchanged. Energy and geopolitics explain much of the friendship. Iran can offer Azerbaijan lower prices for natural gas than it currently receives from the Russian energy giant GazProm, which recently nearly doubled prices for gas exports to the South Caucasus state. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan, which has worked hard to strengthen ties with the US government and presidential administration, can offer Iran the chance to appear "a good neighbor," only interested in regional stability.
In the past year, the two countries have reached agreements on military, energy and technical matters, including arrangements for natural gas swaps, Iran’s Ambassador to Baku Afshar Suleymani told the official Iranian IRNA news agency on January 11, adding that political, economic and cultural relations "have developed fairly well."
http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav011906a.shtml
As the international community debates ways to respond to Iran’s nuclear research, Azerbaijan has begun to explore new avenues of cooperation with the Persian Gulf state – a trend that local analysts say could present Baku with a difficult decision if Iran is referred to the United Nations Security Council for potential punitive measures.
In recent weeks, representatives of President Ilham Aliyev’s administration and the government have emphasized Azerbaijan’s neutrality in the increasingly bitter dispute between Tehran and the international community over the Islamic Republic’s decision to resume nuclear testing.
Questioned about Azerbaijan’s position on the Iranian nuclear program, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov commented in a December 2005 interview with EurasiaNet that "the development of peaceful nuclear programs is a sovereign right of every nation which chooses to do so."
On January 16, roughly a week after Iran defied an international ban to resume testing, an Azerbaijani foreign ministry spokesperson stated that Baku’s policy position remains unchanged. Energy and geopolitics explain much of the friendship. Iran can offer Azerbaijan lower prices for natural gas than it currently receives from the Russian energy giant GazProm, which recently nearly doubled prices for gas exports to the South Caucasus state. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan, which has worked hard to strengthen ties with the US government and presidential administration, can offer Iran the chance to appear "a good neighbor," only interested in regional stability.
In the past year, the two countries have reached agreements on military, energy and technical matters, including arrangements for natural gas swaps, Iran’s Ambassador to Baku Afshar Suleymani told the official Iranian IRNA news agency on January 11, adding that political, economic and cultural relations "have developed fairly well."
http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav011906a.shtml