U.S. sees Azerbaijan as key energy player

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Azerbaijan is a key energy player in the Caucasus region and is viewed as a partner to Western countries, a top U.S. lawmaker said Monday.

U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., the deputy chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, met with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev Monday to discuss energy relations, the Azeri Press Agency reported.

"We had very productive meetings in Baku and discussed with President Ilham Aliyev the issues of cooperation in the fields of security, energy and developing agriculture," Lugar said.

Lugar noted the conflict in Georgia over the breakaway republic of South Ossetia solidified Azerbaijan as a regional energy giant as two key resource fields, the Shah Deniz gas field and the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oil field, supply several major pipelines in the region.

Lugar plans to visit Turkey later during his visit to the region to discuss potential supply concerns over the planned Nabucco natural gas pipeline meant to relieve Europe's dependency on Russian natural resources.

"Since Nabucco is of great importance for these countries, discussions should be held with them," he said.