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US presidential election: who suits Baku?

Politics Materials 4 November 2016 20:33 (UTC +04:00)
A new chapter will start in the world history on Nov. 9 when the US announces its new president
US presidential election: who suits Baku?

Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 4

By Elmira Tariverdiyeva – Trend:

A new chapter will start in the world history on Nov. 9 when the US announces its new president. What kind of chapter that will be? We can only guesstimate. So, instead of predicting on how the new processes in the US can influence the global developments, it would be proper to focus on a more specific question: what will the results of the US presidential run mean for Azerbaijan?

No matter who wins the election, Republicans or Democrats, it is obvious that the US will continue pushing forward its national interests, and use all the tools to influence the situation in the South Caucasus, just like it was during Barack Obama’s presidency.

Some points and aims of the Republicans’ and Democrats’ domestic policies may differ a bit from each other, but both parties seem to hold similar positions regarding the foreign policy. Washington has for many years reacted to any movement of Baku away from the direction that Americans deem right. It is very unlikely that anything will change here, and it seems the double standards against Azerbaijan, and many other countries, are going to stay.

But one thing is clear – the new US president, either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, will pay great attention to Azerbaijan, even more than the previous administration did.

Firstly, because of the April escalation that revealed the biggest problem of the South Caucasus – the simmering Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which is threatening the security of the entire region.

Secondly, year after year, Azerbaijan acquires more significant role for the West, both in terms of security cooperation and confronting the terrorist threat, and in terms of energy security of Europe, which is important for the US.

In the issue of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Clinton can be very helpful for Azerbaijan as the former Secretary of State is well informed about the situation in the South Caucasus and has paid visits both to Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Moreover, Clinton, as Obama, doesn’t use the word “genocide” while assessing the 1915 events in the Ottoman Empire, because none of them wants to spoil relations with Turkey, which is also important for Azerbaijan.

On the other hand, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict doesn’t seem to be a priority for Trump. But, as an entrepreneur, he may be interested in new areas of cooperation with Azerbaijan, which is a promising country, open to investments.

Moreover, he already has experience in cooperation with Azerbaijan – Trump has invested in construction of a business center in Baku.

In general, the victory of any candidate in the US elections will be beneficial for Azerbaijan, since the new authorities are likely to pay more attention to the region than the previous ones did.

Only the nature of this attention will differ – if it is Clinton, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will get into the limelight, and if it is Trump, the US will focus on doing business with Azerbaijan.

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