Richardson lauds U.S.-Azeri energy ties

ALBUQUERQUE, April 6 (UPI) -- Diversification of the Azeri energy sector remains a top priority for the United States, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said.

Richardson, a Democrat, met with Azerbaijan's first consul general to Los Angeles, Elin Suleymanov, at the University of New Mexico, where the envoy spoke of bilateral relations, the Trend News Agency reports.

Azerbaijan has enjoyed warm relations with the United States following the collapse of the former Soviet Union.

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney visited Baku on Sept. 3, 2008, to meet with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev following a tense diplomatic situation in the Caucasus as Russia and Georgia fought over the breakaway republic of South Ossetia.

Energy officials say resources in the Caspian region provide U.S. markets with a viable option to reduce their dependency on the Middle East and Latin America.

Azerbaijan sits as a major energy hub, hosting a leg of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the second-longest in the world.

Richardson, a former energy secretary, said the United States and its regional partners must remain steadfast in their support of the energy sector in Azerbaijan.