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Keeping a key Caspian ally

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  • Keeping a key Caspian ally

    Washington Post
    Keeping a key Caspian ally
    Commentary
    By S. Rob Sobhani


    Today is the 10th anniversary of a landmark agreement
    that changed the geopolitical landscape of the Caspian
    Sea region forever and gave America access to huge oil
    reserves previously under total control of the Soviet
    Union.
    After a decade, the relationship between the
    contractual parties should remain a U.S. foreign
    policy priority.
    The agreement signed on this date in 1994 in Baku,
    the capital of Azerbaijan, was a simple one between
    the government of Azerbaijan and Foreign Oil Cos. for
    developing three giant oil fields - Azeri, Chirag and
    Guneshli. Production from the 6 billion barrels of
    reserves in these fields will be shipped through the
    Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline directly to the
    Mediterranean Sea. From there the oil will be shipped
    to Western markets, including ports on the U.S. East
    Coast. The Caspian Sea region is home to 10 percent of
    the world's remaining oil reserves.

    From the beginning, Azerbaijan wanted to be a friend
    of America - the world's sole remaining superpower -
    and America needed access to non-Middle Eastern oil
    reserves. But concluding this agreement was most
    difficult given prevailing circumstances at the time.
    Azerbaijan was at war with neighboring Armenia over
    the territory of Nagorno-Karabagh. Twenty percent of
    its landmass was under occupation and approximately 1
    million of its 7 million citizens were refugees.
    The people of Azerbaijan had only enjoyed
    independence from the Soviet Union for three years,
    during which the country witnessed serious political
    and economic dislocation due to the Soviet collapse. A
    further obstacle to signing this agreement was the
    total opposition of Russia and Iran. This agreement
    was seen as a threat to their national security
    because it allowed American oil companies to work in
    their backyards.
    Only the vision, courage and political skills of
    Heydar Aliev, former President of Azerbaijan, enabled
    this landmark agreement to be signed. Heydar Aliev was
    a former member of the Politburo turned Azeri patriot,
    who successfully led his country to de facto sovereign
    independence by not allowing either Russia to the
    north or Iran to the south to interfere with his
    country's affairs.
    Heydar Aliev realized very early that
    U.S.-Azerbaijan interests were mutually reinforcing:
    uninterrupted exploration, development and
    transportation of Caspian Sea oil and natural gas to
    international markets; peaceful resolution of the
    lingering Nagorno-Karabagh conflict; limiting the
    influence of radical Islam in the oil-rich Caspian Sea
    region; and fighting the global war on terrorism. Mr.
    Aliev saw no conflict between Azerbaijan's Muslim
    heritage and a secular government.He frequently said,
    "Islam is our faith and belongs in our hearts and in
    our deeds but not on the streets and in our politics."

    He was one of the first world leaders to offer
    immediate assistance to the United States after the
    tragic events of September 11, 2001. Mr. Aliev offered
    immediate right to overfly Azerbaijan to U.S. military
    aircraft flying to Afghanistan.
    Azerbaijan voted for all the U.N. resolutions in
    support of the United States. Working closely with
    U.S. law-enforcement agencies, Azerbaijan identified
    and arrested 30 very dangerous terrorists who had
    entered Azerbaijan. A decade of friendship and
    cooperation explains the presence of Azerbaijani
    troops beside American forces in both Afghanistan and
    Iraq.
    This legacy of friendship, cooperation and support
    has been passed on to Mr. Aliev's son, Ilham Aliev
    (elected president of Azerbaijan by a significant
    majority this past year), who vows to continue his
    father's policies. The U.S., in turn, owes a
    tremendous debt of gratitude to Azerbaijan and its
    people for opening their hearts, despite tremendous
    obstacles, to maintain their end of a bargain with
    America that started in 1991 when oil contract
    negotiations began.
    Unfortunately, Washington has not always upheld
    its end of this critical friendship. While both
    Presidents Clinton and Bush have understood the
    importance of Azerbaijan's contributions to regional
    energy security, Congress has turned its back on
    America's best ally, friend and working partner in the
    former Soviet Union. Congress has failed miserably to
    appreciate the geopolitical importance of Azerbaijan.
    Regardless who wins the elections in November, the
    U.S. has an obligation to uphold this legacy of
    friendship and cooperation by immediately taking the
    following corrective initiatives:
    (1) Congress must permanently remove Section 907
    of the Freedom Support Act that treats Azerbaijan as
    an enemy worse than North Korea and has been in effect
    since 1991. (Beginning after September 11, 2001,
    President Bush has had to waive Section 907 each year
    for Azerbaijan to be treated as America's friend and
    receive any direct U.S. assistance.)
    (2) Given Azerbaijan's strategic location as the
    gateway to Caspian Sea oil, Congress must appropriate
    funds for increased military cooperation between
    Azerbaijan and America.
    (3) Make the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabagh
    conflict a priority of American diplomacy. Resumption
    of this conflict can negatively affect the flow of oil
    to the United States.
    (4) Invite the new president of Azerbaijan to the
    U.S. to thank him for staunchly supporting America's
    war on terrorism.
    In conclusion, America has a strong ally just
    north of the Middle East that has been taken for
    granted for too long. America has been asking its
    friends to stand up and be counted. We might consider
    doing the same.

    S. Rob Sobhani is president of Caspian Energy
    Consulting and an adjunct professor at Georgetown
    University.
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