Friday, Dec 05, 2003
U.S. eyeing bigger foothold in the Caucasus?
By Vladimir Radyuhin
MOSCOW DEC. 4. The United States is planning to establish a major military presence in Azerbaijan to win a bigger foothold in the former Soviet part of the Caucasus, safeguard oil and gas pipelines in the region and step up pressure on Iran.
The U.S. Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, discussed the plan with Azerbaijan's newly-elected President, Ilham Aliyev, during his visit to Baku on Wednesday, Azerbaijani media reports said.
Mr. Rumsfeld ducked questions about possible American bases in Azerbaijan, but confirmed Washington's resolve to expand defence cooperation with the oil-rich former Soviet republic in the Caucasus.
"Certainly we intend to continue that military-to-military relationship with the new administration," he told a joint news conference with the Azeri Defence Minister, Col. Gen. Safar Abiyev. The U.S. defence chief is the highest American official to visit Azerbaijan since Mr. Aliyev succeeded his ailing father, the long-time Azeri President, Heidar Aliyev, in October presidential elections.
Azerbaijan's Defence Minister said his country may consider hosting U.S. forces in the future. Russian military sources said that the U.S. may station up to 15,000 troops at several mobile bases in Azerbaijan as part of the redeployment of the 70,000-strong U.S. force from Germany to Eastern Europe. According to the sources, Washington planned to deploy F-16 fighters in Azerbaijan for use in Afghanistan and Iraq. The U.S. military is reported to have already upgraded several airfields in Azerbaijan.
The United States provides Azerbaijan with about $3 million a year to train, equip and modernise its military.
Recently, the U.S. delivered a Coast Guard cutter to Azerbaijan to protect its offshore oil and gas installations. Baku in turn sent a platoon of peacekeepers to the NATO-led peace-keeping force in Kabul and about 125 troops to Iraq.
"The goal would be to work with the Azerbaijani navy and maritime forces to better enable them to deal with security threats", Mr. Rumsfeld said in Baku. He will continue his talks in Baku after Thursday's trip to Afghanistan.
Mr. Rumsfeld's talks in Baku came close on the heels of a visit to Azerbaijan of Air Force Lt. Gen. Charles Wald, the deputy commander of U.S. European Command, who said afterwards that early next year, the U.S. planned to embark on a comprehensive effort to ensure the safety of the Azeri sector of the disputed Caspian Sea.
Baku is locked in a conflict with neighbouring Iran and Turkmenistan over offshore hydrocarbon reserves in the region.
Copyright © 2003, The Hindu.