Russia rekindles energy ties with Azerbaijan

By Oleg Shchedrov

BAKU, July 3 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan agreed on Thursday to discuss selling gas to Russia, a prospect that could undermine a Western-backed project to bypass Russia and ship fuel from the Caspian Sea region directly to Europe.

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In a clear demonstration of close relations, the joint declaration signed by the two leaders contained an unusually strong support for the Azeri stance in Baku’s long-running dispute with Moscow’s ally Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Aliyev described as “national goal No. 1″ returning Karabakh, a territory internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but controlled by Armenian separatists since 1990.

“The two sides underlined the importance of a speedy resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of respect for … sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of a state’s borders,” the declaration said.

“We are grateful to Russia for this position,” Aliyev said after talks with Medvedev.

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