J. Coyle: Flights to China should go through Baku, not Dubai

"The role of Azerbaijan-U.S. cooperation in the establishment of regional peace and security" was the theme of an international conference, which was held on Friday at the Hyatt Regency. It was organized by the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijan Public Association of American youth.

The conference was attended by representatives of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan, the U.S. Embassy, and the American and Turkish research centers.

Topics discussed at the conference were U.S.-Azerbaijani strategic partnership, regional security, nuclear threats, the Karabakh conflict, and more.

The Director of the Center for Global Education University, Chapman James Coyle, said that Azerbaijan is surrounded by sophisticated neighbors, and this encourages Baku to carry out a balanced policy.

"There are two blocs in the region: the United States-Georgia-Azerbaijan and Russia- Iran-Armenia. Therefore, regional conflicts can ignite at any time," Coyle said.

Coyle noted the need to maintain the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline.

"Azerbaijan supports Western integration and supplying energy resources to the West. The TANAP project is proof of this. The pipeline can supply six billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey and 10 billion cubic meters to Europe annually. Although not a member of NATO, Azerbaijan contributes to the security in Afghanistan and is a major transportation corridor in the NATO supplies to Afghanistan.

The conference also highlighted the need to redirect flights to China through Baku instead of Dubai. "The Baku corridor has shortened the path of Western companies in China, and saves millions of tons of fuel," says Coyle.

  Much attention at the conference was paid to the regional conflicts, and it was noted that there are a lot of interstate and global problems from Afghanistan to the Mediterranean region.

The sources of some of the biggest problems are an anti-American stance, Vladimir Putin, his defense of Iran on the nuclear issue, and the Iranian nuclear program itself.

Regional tensions have been aggravated due to sanctions against Iran, the presence of this energy corridor through the South Caucasus, and others, said the head of the Center for European Studies of the University of Ankara, Chagry Erhan.

Deputy U.S. Ambassador Adam Sterling called the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict the biggest challenge to the region's security.

"The Karabakh issue remains unresolved, but to bring resolution from the outside is not possible. The USA retains its position and supports the peaceful settlement of the conflict. The OSCE Minsk Group continues its work trying to persuade the parties to peace," said Sterling.

However, representatives of official Baku do not agree and believe Washington does not show sufficient effort, and does not distinguish between the aggressor Armenia and Azerbaijan, whose territory is under occupation.

However, representatives of civil society in Azerbaijan reported a readiness to establish contacts with colleagues from Armenia. "This would strengthen the belief in the possibility of peace," said the head of the Public Union of Azerbaijani-American Youth, Vugar Ahmadov.

The panelists stressed that Washington should correct its policy in the South Caucasus. The United States provides great assistance to Armenia and does not receive an adequate response to their interests.

Participants also called on the USA to complete abolition of discrimination against Azerbaijan, the 907th Section to the Freedom Support Act, which prevents the deepening of bilateral relations. -03C06-