Analyst: US interest in Azerbaijan is declining

As the anti-western rhetoric backed by the Azeri government has recently increased following the US’ harsh criticism in the run-up to Ilham Aliyev’s re-election as president, top analysts in 

Washington, DC urge Baku to respect the rule of law and its international commitments.

“Unfortunately, the political leadership in Baku is showing to be insulated, detached from the understanding of changing events in the outside world, very unable to comprehend either European, or American priorities in issues, like development of rule of law,” E. Wayne Merry, a senior fellow for Europe and Eurasia at the American Foreign Policy Council, said in an interview with TURAN’s Washington correspondent.

“These are problems that cannot be avoided, because they are fundamental in a way in which foreign policy is made, not just in Washington, but in Europe as well… And there will continue to be problems, I think, there will be larger problems in the years ahead,” Merry, who served at the State and Defense Departments for many years, added.

Asked whether the regional developments, such as American-Iranian possible rapprochement, might affect US’s priorities to the region, Merry said, although recent steps between Washington and Tehran are “encouraging,” however, regardless of that, “the importance priority not just of Azerbaijan, but of the Central Caucasus region in general for the US is in decline.” 

Part of that has to do with the end of the American engagement in Afghanistan, while it is also about “other US foreign policy priorities and commitments in the other parts of the world. “ Five years from now, he added, Azerbaijan “will be in a lower stature in terms of American interests and priorities than it has today, and significantly lower than it has been in the past.”

As the economic context of Azerbaijan is sifting from being focus on oil to gas, the analyst warns Baku regarding the new challenges ahead.

“The easy years of economic prosperity, based on oil, are now coming to an end, and a much more challenging period of economic development lies ahead,” he said.