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US-Azerbaijani relations discussed at conference in Washington

10 November 2010 08:20 (UTC +04:00)

The conference with participants such as Ambassador Richard Morningstar, US Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy, Zbigniew Brzezinski, former US Presidentâ€™s advisor and dozens of American analysts on Azerbaijan, also number of Azerbaijani experts as well as Elkhan Nuriyev, Director, Center for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, was organized by the Jamestown Foundation and the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute was discussing â€œState of the partnershipâ€ at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Speaking at the three-hour-long discussions on Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijanâ€™s future, energy affairs and regional co-operation, Brzezinski said that Azerbaijan nowadays manages to build a strong international and foreign policy.

Azerbaijan is still struggling, trying to solve the problem in Nagorno-Karabakh peacefully, but itâ€™s clear that the country has gained its national identity and turned from a small part of the USSSR into a real country with its partners and strategies, Brzezinski added.

He reminded that Azerbaijan is an active participant of numerous energy projects in Eurasia (including the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Jeyhan pipeline) and is trying to enlarge its co-operation with the West.

Richard Morningstar supported Brzezinskiâ€™s speech. According to him, Azerbaijanâ€™s role in the diversification of the regionâ€™s energy resources is sufficient and the country is one of those partners who might make the South Stream project real. Energy security in the region is one of main priorities of Azerbaijan in the region, he stressed.

Jamestownâ€™s analyst Vladimir Sokor complained that recently the US-Azerbaijani relations have recently cooled down, which, he doesnâ€™t exclude, is being done under the pressure of the Armenian Diaspora.

Mr. Morningstar said that the US and Azerbaijan have a constant and stable relationship, which was marked with friendship, and he believes, the Obama administration never tried to slow down its attention to Azerbaijan.

He stressed once more that Azerbaijan is a key country in a number of regional co-operation issues, especially such as the energy security and diversification.

Elkhan Nuriyev, an analyst from Azerbaijan, mentioned at the panel that Azerbaijan might be viewed as a bridge between the West and the East. He stressed that Azerbaijan is proud of its diplomatic achievements in terms of creating relationship with Russia and the US, as well as the European Union.

Conference participants also touched upon the US Ambassador to Azerbaijan issue, stressing the importance of having such an ambassador as soon as possible.

Mr. Brzezinski pointed out that Washington shouldnâ€™t pay attention to the Armenian lobbyist groups, even though itâ€™s their right to express their own opinion. He said in such situation the right decision should be made.