U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney began a visit to Azerbaijan Wednesday, the first leg of his tour to three ex-Soviet republics and several European states, according to reports reaching here.
Cheney will visit Georgia after his stop in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, to show support for Tbilisi, which is at odds with Moscow on its breakaway regions. He will then visit Ukraine and several European Union (EU) states.
During his stay in Baku, Cheney will discuss with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev bilateral ties, security and energy cooperation as well as the situation in the Caucasus region, local officials said.
The tour will demonstrate that Washington takes an interest in security and stability in this part of the world, local APA news agency cited John Hannah, deputy assistant for National Security Affairs, as saying.
Military and security cooperation are also important in U.S.-Azerbaijan relations, he said.
The Pentagon sent 4.86 million U.S. dollars' worth of military-technical aid to Azerbaijan last year, mainly for communication use and training, according to a report issued by the U.S. Department of Defense.
Washington has shown interest in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline that runs through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, pumping oil to the West and serving to lift the West's reliance on Russian oil and gas exports.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that his country had not harmed energy sites on Georgian territory, including the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, during the two countries' military conflict in South Ossetia.
Georgia sent in troops to reclaim South Ossetia on Aug. 8, triggering a military counter-offensive by Russia. The conflict ended with a ceasefire agreement between Tbilisi and Moscow brokered by France.
However, tensions between the two nations as well as Russia and the West were heightened after Russia recognized the self-proclaimed independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Source:Xinhua
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