WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- In retrospect, 2007 will be remembered as the high-water mark of Washington's attempts to develop the Caspian's post-Soviet hydrocarbon riches. If early 2008 is any indication, then the one remaining friend that America has in the Caspian basin is Azerbaijan. Neither Iran, subject to ongoing U.S. sanctions, nor the Russian Federation have evinced the slightest interest in sharing their oil and natural gas reserves with U.S. companies, while Turkmenistan's resources are locked up for the foreseeable future with Russia and China and Kazakhstan has played hardball with the Western consortium developing Kashagan, wringing out of its nervous joint partners a doubling of Kazakhstan's share in the massive development project. Only Azerbaijan remains as the first and brightest hope of Western efforts to corral Caspian development, a post-Soviet republic still firmly committed to its Western partners.

Azeri interest in maintaining its Western connections amid growing nationalist settlement in the Caspian basin is personified in the recent two-day visit of U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar' title='U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar' class='tpstyle'>U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to Baku. On Jan. 14 Azeri President Ilham Aliyev received Lugar. The Azeri media heavily covered the event and proclaimed, "The head of the state said that bilateral cooperation between U.S. and Azerbaijan are developing successfully in all the fields."

Lugar had a full agenda during his two-day visit: According to the Azeri media, among the topics that Lugar discussed were Washington's appreciation of Azerbaijan's anti-terrorist efforts, bilateral cooperation, the first world war's Armenian "genocide," Nagorno-Karabakh, regional energy cooperation, Azeri elections and Iran's nuclear program.

Perhaps the most notable of Lugar's observations came when, following his discussions with Aliyev, he suggested "George Bush should appoint a special representative on energy issues in the Caspian region. … The appointment of special representative will be a signal that U.S. regards this region as a priority."

Lugar's comments follow up on a letter that he and fellow Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Joseph Biden, D-Del., sent on Oct. 4 to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stressing the need for such a special representative focused on energy issues in the Caspian to safeguard long-term U.S. interests.