Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Circumventing Iran? Try Azerbaijan

An Azerbaijan-Turkey-Israel "triangle alliance" does not take into consideration Turkey’s problem with the Kirkuk-Mosul-Haifa pipeline.

Ankara, which considers the transit fee it collects an important source of revenue, has warned Israel it would regard the talked-about Kirkuk-Mosul-Haifa pipeline as "a serious blow to Turkish-Israeli relations."
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Circumventing Iran? Try Azerbaijan

Sam Ser, THE JERUSALEM POST Jun. 10, 2005


Cheap oil and an embassy in Israel from a Muslim country on Iran's border – these are the tangible benefits that Israeli and American Jewish officials hope to soon realize after a decade of efforts to develop ties with Azerbaijan.

Potential for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, which as of last week started carrying oil from Azerbaijan's capital on the Caspian Sea through Georgia to Turkey's Mediterranean coast, is not limited to the billions of dollars it is expected to bring Azerbaijan each year. Also involved is the possibility of forging a new economic and diplomatic alliance arcing through Southwest Asia that bypasses Russia and Iran.

This may, in fact, already be working to Israel's benefit. In Baku on Thursday, at the 12th annual international exhibit of Caspian Oil, Gas, Oil Refining and Petrochemistry, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev met with India's Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Mani Shankar Aiyar.

According to a press release from the Indian ministry, Aiyar conveyed to Aliyev India's "deep interest in expanding bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas sector... specifically referring to the possibility of purchase by India of Azerbaijani oil transported to Ceyhan by the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, and then brought to the Red Sea through the Ashkelon-Eilat pipeline in Israel."

Interests in Azerbaijan for Israel and American Jewish groups include ties to the 20,000 Jews who live there in relative peace, and the possibility of allying with a country that is 93 percent Muslim.

For Azerbaijan as well, the attraction of a relationship with the Jewish state and with the Jewish lobby is strong. Israel was one of the first countries to establish an embassy in Azerbaijan after its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, and it has since shared its experience as a country that has grown rapidly from a weak and poor nation into a regional power.

American Jewish groups too have often supported the country in Congress – help which Azerbaijan's previous president, Aliyev's father Heydar, promised to repay by opening an embassy in Israel. Although this promise is as yet unfulfilled, a senior member of an American Jewish organization with significant connections to Aliyev's administration told The Jerusalem Post this week that the establishment of an embassy in Israel could be forthcoming soon.

The source noted that Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov had developed a strong rapport with American Jewish activists during his service in his country's embassy in the United States.

Also speaking with the Post this week was an Israeli official familiar with Azerbaijan and the region, who stressed the economic and diplomatic importance of ties with the country of 8 million that is seeking to climb out from under the shadow of its former Soviet rulers.

"We have terrific relations with Azerbaijan," said the official, "and considering the neighborhood it's in, [bilateral ties] are a strategic decision for both of us."

For Azerbaijan, that decision reflects a desire to be aligned with the West, independent from Russian, as well as Iranian, influence, the official said.

The new pipeline strengthens Azerbaijan's relationship with Turkey, and indirectly should improve Turkey's relationship with Israel, he added.

"There is a significant amount of Israeli investment in Azerbaijan, in water management projects, cell phones, regional development, agriculture and more. Oil opens up an entire range of opportunities... The possibilities are endless, and there is a huge role for Israel to play," he said.

While an Azerbaijan-Turkey-Israel "triangle alliance" is not the avowed goal of any of the countries, it appears to be quietly shaping up nonetheless.

As the Israeli official said, all three share "so many interests that are similar... there's a synergy with Israel that just works."



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