Why White House woos Azerbaijan
WASHINGTON Ð In the boxing ring of international diplomacy and influence, Azerbaijan punches above its weight.
Coming at the White House’s invitation, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev will meet Friday with top administration officials – including President Bush – in his first official visit to the US since taking office in a widely criticized election in October 2003
The visit, analysts say, is part of a broader effort by the Bush administration to gain support in a key region in the face of a growing confrontation with Iran, particularly from Muslim countries.
But Azerbaijan’s history of corruption and its poor human rights record have raised eyebrows about strengthening ties with the Central Asian country, and many point to oil as another driving factor in the relationship.
The visit is “a little anomalous,” admits Cory Welt, deputy director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, though he adds that there are “a number of reasons why Azerbaijan is of particular interest to the US now.”
The predominantely Shiite Muslim country of 8 million shares a 380-mile border with Iran, with whom it retains close economic and cultural links, though it maintains its political distance. That geographical position makes Azerbaijan a natural ally for the US, said Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov on a recent visit to Washington.
csmonitor.com