Azerbaijan, Baku, February 25 / Trend , E.Tariverdiyeva/
On Feb. 23, the International Center for Strategic Studies in Washington hosted the conference "South Caucasus: security, energy and interests of the United States."
The conference was devoted to U.S. relations with the countries of region. The focus of the meeting was Azerbaijan, which is a leader in the region, Consul General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles Elin Suleymanov told Trend .
"Holding such an event in such an important center shows a serious interest of the United States in the region as a whole, and in Azerbaijan. In my opinion, the purpose of the conference was also to keep the interest at the necessary level," Suleymanov said in a telephone conversation from Washington.
The conference was attended by the expert on Russia, Eurasia, and International Energy Security at the Heritage Foundation (USA), a political analyst Ariel Cohen, deputy vice president of SOCAR Vitaly Beglyarbekov, the U.S. War College professor Stephen Blank, Consul General of Azerbaijan to Los Angeles Elin Suleymanov, director of foreign policy programs of the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy Fariz Ismailzade, a senior official of the U.S. Jamestown Foundation Vladimir Socor, and other well-known experts, political scientists, journalists and officials.
The participants discussed the situation in South Caucasus and the strategic, economic and energy interests in the region.
According to Suleymanov, the main theme of speeches of American experts at the conference was Azerbaijan. "Over recent years, the U.S. has not particularly focused on our region, and furthermore, we felt a certain detachment of the United States from the situation in the region, he said. We hope that the support to projects to diversify energy resources in Europe through the Caspian region will continue, but it needs to work for this."
According to Suleymanov, Europe should hurry with the completion of projects to diversify routes for transportation of hydrocarbons, since Azerbaijan has fulfilled all conditions of agreements. Interested countries should now support these projects, including the Nabucco project, to achieve results, the expert said.
Nabucco gas pipeline project is worth €7.9 billion. Participants of the project are Austrian OMV, Hungarian MOL, Bulgarian Bulgargaz, Romanian Transgaz, Turkish Botas and German RWE companies. Each of participants has equal share to the amount of 16.67 percent. Construction of gas pipeline is planned to be launched in 2011, the first supplies - in 2014. Maximal capacity of the pipeline will hit 31 billion cubic meters per year. Nabucco Gas Pipeline International shareholders will invest 30 percent of total cost of the project, the rest 70 percent will be paid owing to loans.
According to Suleymanov, one of the most reliable partners in the region for the United States is Azerbaijan. "In my speech, I said that under Heydar Aliyev's leadership in collaboration with the leaders such as Suleyman Demirel and Eduard Shevardnadze, was laid the foundation for long-term stability in the region, i.e. the energy corridor East-West," he said.
According to Suleymanov, all representatives from Azerbaijan said at the conference that the main threat to the future of the region is the unresolved Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. All experts agreed that Washington's policy in the promotion of Turkish-Armenian protocols without taking into account the interests of Azerbaijan is shortsighted, and called for solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, taking into account the country's territorial integrity," said Suleymanov. "Today, awareness is growing, and the importance of the conference is that this position was voiced again," he said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.
According to another participant, expert on Russia, Eurasia, and International Energy Security at the Heritage Foundation (USA), a political analyst Ariel Cohen, all speakers agreed that the twenty-year U.S. policy in the South Caucasus is changing guidelines under the Obama administration.
"There is concern in the expert community, among diplomats and representatives of the Congress that the United States is not sufficiently involved in the processes in South Caucasus," Cohen told Trend by telephone from Washington.
He said that one of the factors indicating such non-involvement was the eight-month absence of a permanent U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan, and charge d'affaires in Turkmenistan. "Azerbaijani participants of the conference expressed their concern in this regard, saying that the absence of ambassador is a symptom of a lack of priority of region for the United States," said Cohen.
The American participants of the conference suggested that the U.S. should revise its views on the interdependence of the processes of the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, said the analyst. "And the Azerbaijani and Turkish, and many American experts at the conference talked about the need to link these processes," said Cohen.
The conference also paid significant attention to the role of energy in the region.
"As an expert, I believe that the sale of Azerbaijani gas to Russia and Iran is a sort of message for the West that they are not only one interested in buying fuel. But in fact, it is important for the selling side to sell gas on reliable markets, so I think Azerbaijan's interest in Europe, as the purchaser of hydrocarbons, has not weakened. Even after all sales to Russia, China and Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have enough gas to fill Nabucco," said Cohen.
In addition, he said, there is potential gas from Iraq and Egypt.
"I am never tired of criticizing the Europeans for passivity on the issue of diversification of energy resources through the Caspian region and in geopolitics. The process goes on, but slowly. Between Russia and the West there is a kind of competition, and more ambiguous role of Turkey slows down the development rate of the Nabucco. Turkey is competing with itself as a transit country for Nabucco on the one hand and as a consumer of Azerbaijani gas on the other hand," said Cohen.
Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az
