Turning on the spigot

From RFE/RL:

July 13 marks the official inauguration of the $4 billion Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline at the Turkish port of Ceyhan. The pipeline -- which pumps Caspian Sea oil to the Turkish Mediterranean, bypassing Russia and Iran -- should supply 1 million barrels per day by 2009. One of the pipeline's main beneficiaries will be oil-rich Azerbaijan. The country's skyrocketing oil revenues -- and the vicissitudes of geopolitics -- have led to a growing self-confidence in Azerbaijan's foreign policy. Is Baku setting itself up to be a new regional powerhouse?
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It's a measure of Azerbaijan's growing regional importance that in April Washington put aside its reservation's about Baku's human rights record to invite Aliyev to the White House. On the agenda, among other things, the United States's nuclear standoff with Iran.

In Washington, Aliyev trod a careful path, saying Azerbaijan was an ally in the war on terror, but stressed that if the United States decided to attack Iran, Azerbaijan would not help.

This apparent desire for a balanced foreign policy -- between Russia, Iran, and the West -- seems to be shared by many members of the Azerbaijani political elite.

Ilqar Memmedov, a former member of the Azerbaijani opposition, says that Azerbaijan's position is different to Georgia's pro-Western orientation and Armenia's close ties with Russia.