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Tuesday,
August 14,
2007, #154 (1421)
Russia currently tolerates the strengthening of the South Caucasus as an energy corridor, but the issue is likely to inspire serious confrontation in the region at some point, according to Azerbaijani political analyst Vafa Guluzade. Guluzade suggested that the US has encroached on Russia's former sphere of influence in Eastern Europe, Ukraine and the Baltic republics, and is now turning its attention to the Caucasus. "I think that this goal will be reached," Guluzade said, according to the news agency Regnum. The political analyst is sure that Russia is unhappy at the development of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum pipelines. Guluzade also stated that Moscow perceives the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as a potential time bomb. Azerbaijan should realize that the conflict is not with Armenia but with Russia, he urged, implying Armenia is a proxy of Russia in the region. Guluzade, a former Baku official, warns the Azerbaijani leadership to be ready for any sort of aggression, and recommends developing the country's defense capability.
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Azerbaijani
analyst talks of Russian opposition to South Caucasus energy corridor