THE CRISIS IS NO OBSTACLE TO PARTNERSHIP

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's flying visit to Moscow in mid-September and his working meetings with Russian counterpart Dmitriy Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin took place at quite an important stage in the development of the regional - South Caucasian - situation. The critical phase in the South Ossetian crisis is over, while the political phase requires all interested parties to "synchronize their watches" and engage in dialogue. The two countries held high-level consultations against the alarming "South Ossetian background" as there is quite an extensive agenda of bilateral issues across the widest range of interaction. Among them are issues of regional security - of which the most important element is the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh issue - economy and trade, investment projects, humanitarian projects, the Caspian problem and many other important matters.

Before the South Ossetia crisis, Russia regarded Azerbaijan as a friendly partner and an important regional player. During the latest consultations in Moscow, this assessment was not only confirmed, but also reinforced by the Russian President who said that "active Russian-Azerbaijani interaction on all issues is one of the key factors to ensure security and stability in the region". This belief demonstrates Moscow's growing understanding, after the South Ossetia conflict, of the fact that Russia needs Azerbaijan, not only to solve the traditional range of bilateral and regional tasks (conflict settlement, trade, the Caspian and the fight against terrorism and radical Islam, which is having an increasing impact in the North Caucasus) but also to solve issues at a "higher" geopolitical level. Amid the mounting tensions with the USA, the infiltration of the Alliance into the region "through the Georgian gate" and the related need to strengthen the "belt" of allied and friendly countries, Baku's role is becoming more important for Moscow in the sense that, by maintaining trusting and mutually beneficial relations with Azerbaijan, Russia will be able to preserve its presence in the region.

For its part, Baku does not mind if Russia maintains, and even strengthens, its positions in the region, but thinks that this process should be of a positive nature (trade and investment rather than tanks and air defence systems to states hostile to Azerbaijan). Of course, Moscow's position on the Nagornyy Karabakh settlement is of great importance to Baku. On this point, it is important to point out that the most important result of the Moscow consultations was the Russian President's assurance that, after the recent events in the Caucasus and the recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Moscow had not changed its position on the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict and believes that the South Ossetia crisis does not set a precedent for this process. This approach was also developed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Speaking at an expanded session of the Federation Council committee on international affairs on 18 September, he said that Moscow intends to continue "its active assistance to the peaceful settlement of conflicts in the CIS area on the basis of international law, respect for all principles of the UN Charter, agreements previously reached and the search for agreement between the parties involved in conflicts". Touching on the Dniester and Nagornyy Karabakh conflicts in this context, he said that "every conflict has its own specific features, its own format and mechanisms of mediation, but the South Ossetian conflict does not set any precedent. "None of those involved in settling the Nagornyy Karabakh and Dniester conflicts is planning to break international law, sever existing agreements, destroy the settlement formats already agreed or to bomb civilians and peacekeepers," Sergey Lavrov said. "There is no-one wishing to secure their territorial integrity by the mass killing of people whom you regard as your own citizens and residents of your own country. There can be no parallels here."

Speaking about the results of his meeting with the president of Azerbaijan, Medvedev also said that Moscow will continue rendering maximum assistance to the search for a mutually acceptable solution to this difficult issue. These statements probably illustrate Moscow's desire to seize the initiative in the OSCE Minsk Group and organize a meeting between the Presidents of the two countries - Armenia and Azerbaijan - without Western mediators. According to some sources, the Armenian President has already accepted this initiative.

This initiative - if it indicates Moscow's readiness and resolve to move the negotiating process forward - may interest Azerbaijan. In Moscow, President Aliyev confirmed Baku's interest in Russia playing a more active role in the settlement process as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group. "Despite the complexity of developments in the Caucasus region, it seems to us that the conditions exist now to solve this conflict; this would meet the interests of all states and would be based on principles of international law," said Ilham Aliyev.

The following statement from the Azerbaijani leader is also worth noting: "If the conflict is settled in the near future, I am sure that new prospects will open up for regional cooperation across a broad format, which will be of benefit to all countries." In this way, Baku hinted that it is ready to involve all countries of the region in major international energy and transport projects.

During the talks in Moscow, the two sides also touched upon issues of business cooperation, pointing not just to the growth of more than 50 per cent in commodity turnover and changes in its quality, but also to the reduced dependence on mineral resources in bilateral trade relations. The economic relations between the two countries have indeed risen to a fundamentally new level of strategic interaction. In this context, it is notable that Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan is ready to expend maximum effort in the future to expand bilateral relations with "new content and new projects and to promote the progressive development of our countries and greater integration in the region."

Cooperation between the two countries in the humanitarian sphere is also developing dynamically. Baku considers this to be a priority in its relations with Russia. It is significant that the Russian President thanked the leadership of Azerbaijan for its efforts to maintain the Russian language, culture and education in Azerbaijan. In this sense, the opening of a branch of Moscow State University in Baku was highly appreciated.

Ahead of the meeting in Moscow, many Russian political experts predicted that Baku's intensive cooperation with the USA and the West, its role in GUAM and active position on the diversification of sources and routes of energy supplies to the world market might become an obstacle to the development of strategic cooperation between Moscow and Baku. However, the results of the Moscow meeting dispelled those doubts. The Kremlin understands very well that Baku's active regional policy and energy diplomacy are not directed against Russia and that Azerbaijan foreign policy and economic initiatives with the US and Europe are also not at the expense of relations with Russia, which it has always considered to be an important and beneficial partner. This perception is confirmed by an article in the Russian newspaper Vedomosti reporting that SOCAR is ready to supply gas to southern Russia in return for Russian gas supplies to the Petkim petrochemical complex in Turkey, the controlling parcel of shares in which belongs to the Azerbaijani oil company.

The Georgian-Russian conflict was not openly discussed during the Moscow summit, but some remarks made by the Azerbaijani President at the final news conference testify quite eloquently to its position and priorities on this issue.

"We live and will continue to live in this region, we are neighbours, and nobody will move anywhere from this region. For this reason, it is necessary to seek and find mechanisms of effective interaction, good neighbourliness and cooperation," the Azerbaijani President said after his meeting with his Russian counterpart, clearly confirming his traditional allegiance to the idea of regional cooperation.

It is known that during the recent Georgian-Russian conflict, Baku took a principled, but at the same time, balanced position (in favour of Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity) which did not contain any criticism of Moscow's actions. It is notable that such restraint by Baku was highly appreciated, not just by Moscow, which is understandable, but apparently also by the USA and the EU, because the latter understand that, at a time when Tbilisi is rocking the "regional boat", it is possible to maintain a balance of forces in the South Caucasus and reduce risks to the secure functioning of international energy and transport projects in the region thanks only to Baku's balanced policy and well-thought out diplomatic initiatives. These projects form the basis of regional security and the economic stability of regional countries.