Pipeline Diplomacy: The Clinton Administration's Fight for Baku-Ceyhan.
Abstract
In August 1997, President Heydar Aliyev of Azerbaijan, a former republic of the Soviet Union enjoying only its sixth year of independence, was received at the White House with full honors for an official working visit with President Bill Clinton. Vice President Al Gore, Speaker Newt Gingrich and Defense Secretary William Cohen also met with Mr. Aliyev. The White House used the occasion to announce several economic assistance packages while President Aliyev signed a new Amoco exploration deal. The lavishness of this visit was surreal, given that the United States employs restrictive sanctions against Azerbaijan for its conflict with Armenia and democracy advocates sharply condemn Mr. Aliyev for autocratic practices. Nevertheless, Mr. Aliyev's grand reception at the White House was only one step in an elaborate Clinton administration policy in the pursuit of what it considers a U.S. national interest: ensuring the potentially lucrative oil reserves in Azerbaijan and adjoining energy fields in the Caspian Sea flow through pipelines in a westward direction to the friendly markets of Turkey and Western Europe. In order to achieve this objective, the administration has actively engaged the government of Azerbaijan with public and private diplomacy, offered the prospect of closer defense cooperation, provided commercial incentives to bolster investment in Azerbaijan, and pressed Congress to lift sanctions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA360382
Entities
Organizations
- Princeton University