The Huffington Post: It would be a real blow to US foreign policy and interests to lose a friend like Azerbaijan

The article says “Azerbaijan is the lynchpin of the East-West Energy Corridor, anchored by the Baku-Tbilisi-Cheyhan Pipeline, a major pipeline that bypasses Russia and delivers oil directly to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan and on to Western markets.”

The author writes “Azerbaijan is the first parliamentary democracy in the Muslim world and a staunchly secular, tolerant and pro-Western society to this day.”

“It is worth mentioning that Azerbaijan constantly attempts to reach out to the US, both in terms of business and diplomacy to ally herself more closely with the US and not to those who (to phrase it nicely) are not friends of the US. Unfortunately, the US seems on a path to either overtly or by omission ignore Azerbaijan and the Caucasus in favor of much less friendly folks”, the author says.

According to him, Azerbaijan is not opposed to Turkish-Armenian dialogue or the signing of protocols for the normalization of relations between the two nations. In fact, Azerbaijan has been in dialogue with Armenia on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, one of the longest running "frozen conflicts` in the world today.

“Azerbaijan`s concern with Turkish-Armenian rapprochement and the deep involvement of US diplomats and policy makers is that it focuses on a tiny portion of the regional equation and accomplishes merely symbolic gains that have the distinct potential to destabilize the entire region down the road. It seems clear that Azerbaijan would like to believe the assurances by their friends in Turkey that any further progress on rapprochement with Armenia will depend on a tangible progress in the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The reality for Azerbaijan is that the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan is occupied by Armenia, and there are one million internally displaced Azerbaijanis who want to go home. This is not an opinion; rather it is a statement of fact as the UN, US, EU, etc. recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijani territory, period”, Katz stresses.

He writes “Azerbaijan has diplomatically, respectfully and repeatedly attempted to communicate the danger of potential consequences of ignoring regional realities; however, these overtures seem to have fallen on deaf ears. As a result, the overwhelming significance of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue for Azerbaijan and its leadership and its resolve to stand its ground has been, once again, underestimated.”

The article says “those who study Azerbaijan in depth learn that it is a pragmatic nation that acts based on its national interest and proceeds from a rational assessment of the changing regional environment.”

“US policymakers would do well to apply more strategic thinking coupled with tactics to its foreign policy in the Caucasus and Eurasia and to look 20 years ahead instead of to the immediate future. It would be a real blow to US foreign policy and interests to lose a friend like Azerbaijan”, the author underlines.

/AzerTac/