Baku turns from Moscow to Brussels

Energy-rich Azerbaijan has become the latest post-Soviet country to choose Brussels over Moscow, after a row with Russia about energy prices.

Following Russia’s decision to double gas prices to Azerbaijan on 1 January, Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said his country would now seek to improve ties with the EU.

He described the current situation as "a defining moment for Azerbaijan and the southern Caucasus as a whole".

"At stake is the future of our strategic orientation," he said, stressing that Azerbaijan now wants a "pragmatic, market-driven relationship with Russia, but a strategic relationship with Europe".

His comments appear to represent a dramatic shift in policy from the government in Baku, which in the past has carefully balanced its position between the EU and Russia.

In contrast to neighbouring Georgia - which has incurred Russia’s wrath for pursuing an independent foreign policy - and Armenia, which is heavily dependent on Russia, Azerbaijan had carefully calibrated its policy toward Moscow, remaining on the edge of Russia’s sphere of influence.

But on 8 January, Azerbaijan announced that it would no longer buy Russian gas or transport its oil through Russian pipelines and began supplying Georgia with gas to relieve Georgia’s reliance on Russian imports.

Last year Russia also demanded from Georgia more than double the price it pays for Russian gas.

Despite Azerbaijan’s apparent shift towards the EU, major problems in its relations with the Union remain.

According to confidential minutes of a high-level EU-Azerbaijan meeting in November last year, the EU warned that contractual relations could be frozen if Azerbaijan failed to meet international standards of democracy.

At the meeting, held on 14 November in Brussels, Paula Lehtomäki, Finnish minister for European affairs, hinted that a "suspension clause" in the agreement that underpins relations could be invoked if improvements were not made.

Although Lehtomäki’s comments stopped short of an outright threat to suspend ties, evoking the possibility of such a move is unusual.

Lehtomäki said the EU hoped using the clause would not be necessary, but "recalled its existence" and said the EU had "serious concerns" about freedom of expression in Azerbaijan. She also called for a "genuine commitment" to EU and international "norms and values".

In response, Mammadyarov described democratisation as "a process and a generational issue" and stressed the need for journalists to avoid humiliating or offending articles.

Since President Ilham Aliyev gained power from his father in 2003, his government has faced increasingly vocal criticism for its treatment of opposition leaders and the press.

According to an annual report by Human Rights Watch, in 2006 "media freedom deteriorated, with violence against and arrests of journalists, as well as numerous defamation cases orchestrated by government officials".

Despite the criticism, EU diplomats say suspending contractual relations is unlikely given Azerbaijan’s pivotal role in diversifying EU energy supplies away from Russia.

The European Commission has said that bringing trans-Caspian and central Asian energy to Europe is one of its key priorities.

Mammadyarov also sought to underline Azerbaijan’s role in helping the EU tap into new energy resources.

"Caspian gas and oil will allow Europe to balance its dependence on unreliable energy commodities," he said.

He also called on the EU27, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova and Turkey to integrate their electricity markets.

Energy-rich Azerbaijan has become the latest post-Soviet country to choose Brussels over Moscow, after a row with Russia about energy prices.

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