Cheney in Azerbaijan on ex-Soviet state tour

US VicePresident Dick Cheney upon arrival to Baku,Azerbaijian
The Nabucco Gas Pipeline Project Map

US Vice President Dick Cheney visited Azerbaijan on Wednesday on the first stop of a tour aimed at backing ex-Soviet American allies, amid a chill in US-Russia relations over Moscow's conflict with Georgia.Cheney was to hold talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and top Western oil executives working in the country, which sits on substantial energy reserves and is crossed by major pipelines taking oil and gas to the West.He was then to head to Georgia to support the pro-Western government of President Mikheil Saakashvili, who has pledged to bring his country into the Western military alliance NATO and enhance ties with the European Union.Cheney will be the highest ranking US official to visit Tbilisi since Russia and Georgia fought a five-day war over the Moscow-backed rebel region of South Ossetia and Russian tanks rolled deep into Georgian territory.In the latest sign of the crisis between Moscow and Tbilisi, Russia shut down its embassy in the Georgian capital following Georgia's decision to cut diplomatic ties, while Georgia's embassy in Moscow has stopped functioning although the consulate is working as normal.The Russian foreign ministry also said it had decided to suspend the issuing of visas to Georgian citizens.Georgia on Tuesday formally broke diplomatic relations with Russia following its occupation of parts of the country and recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another pro-Moscow rebel region.Adding to the tensions, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev launched a bitter personal attack against Saakashvili on Tuesday, calling him a "political corpse" and accusing his government of "aggression that ended in many deaths. "Meanwhile, a NATO delegation was to visit Georgia on September 15 and 16, NATO diplomats said.Cheney was also to visit Ukraine, whose President Viktor Yushchenko has repeatedly sparred with Moscow and was Wednesday engulfed in a fresh domestic political crisis.His visit to Georgia and Ukraine is being seen by analysts as a clear message to Russia that Washington will support pro-Western governments in the region even if this infuriates Moscow.Cheney will provide a "strong message of reassurance to our friends in the region," his national security advisor John Hannah told reporters ahead of the trip.But mainly Shiite Muslim Azerbaijan has trodden a more delicate line in its relations with Moscow than Kiev or Tbilisi, becoming a strong US regional ally while at the same time carefully refraining from upsetting Moscow.Mubariz Gurbanly, a member of parliament from the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party, told AFP that "Georgia and Russia are our friends and Azerbaijan is calling for the peace in the region."Aliyev, who succeeded his father Heydar as president, has been criticised in the West for failing to encourage democratic reform but Cheney's talks were expected to concentrate on energy issues.As well as meeting Aliyev, Cheney was also due to hold talks with the Azerbaijan chiefs for oil giants BP and Chevron, William Schrader and Robert Dastmalchi.Analysts have said Cheney will be seeking to persuade Baku not to export its oil and gas resources to the West through Russia, instead of pipelines that go through Georgia.Cheney will also want to ensure Azerbaijani support for the ambitious US- and EU-backed Nabucco gas pipeline, a 3,300-kilometre (2,050-mile) pipeline that would run via Turkey and the Balkan states to Austria."The United States and Azerbaijan will discuss the security of the pipelines and the strengthening of energy cooperation," said Gurbanly.Cheney is pointedly making no stop in Russia but US-Russian relations are likely to be the focal point of the tour.The White House led global condemnation of Russia's decision to recognise South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states, calling it "irresponsible," but laid out no concrete retaliatory plans.The trip comes as Washington wraps up a review of US ties to Russia, which have been frayed over the Georgia conflict. The White House said Tuesday it had not ruled sanctions out as a possible response.The vice president is to finish his trip in Italy and attend a security and intelligence forum at Lake Como and hold talks with world leaders including Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and energy executives.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080903133128.qeyjf0q7&show_article=1&catnum=0

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