Diplomatic Courier: US should enhance relations with Azerbaijan to maximize its influence

Baku. 20 April. REPORT.AZ/ Azerbaijan is an important partner of USA for rebuilding relations with important allies and ensuring energy security for Europe.

Report informs, says "A Cost-Efficient Investment: Enhancing US-Azerbaijan Relations" article by Daniel Urchick posted on American Diplomatic Courier.

"The United States should not only continue its relations with Azerbaijan, but also enhance diplomatic, economic, and security relations to maximize US influence across the region more broadly", the author says.

According to him, the reasons to focus on Azerbaijan are numerous—ranging from countering Russia’s ambitions directly to countering Iran’s indirectly, and from building energy security to improving damaged relationships with countries such as Turkey and Israel.

Mentioning Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, D.Urchick states that increasing economic and security support to Azerbaijan will force Russia to expend precious resources maintaining a military balance in one of many conflict zones where it is involved.

"If Russia fails to support Armenia while the United States increases its support to Azerbaijan, its global image as a major-power backer will suffer", the author writes

According to him, "while significant progress toward friendly relations with Russia is unlikely, the United States can still remove any possibility of Azerbaijan slipping into the Russian political orbit by showing that, even with a constrained foreign policy budget, it values Azeri friendship".

The author states that Azerbaijan is an important partner for countering Russia and Iran directly and indirectly, rebuilding relations with important allies, and ensuring energy security for Europe.