Bush and Azerbaijan President Meet to Discuss Oil, Iran

President Bush told Azerbaijan president on Friday that his country has an important role to play in guaranteeing energy security around the world.  The two leaders also discussed Iran.

Bush said he assured President Ilham Aliev that the United States wants to resolve a crisis over Iran's nuclear program through diplomacy. Aliev has made it clear that he would not allow his country to be used for any operations against its neighbor.

Energy was a major issue. "I appreciate the vision of the government, the vision of the president, in helping this world achieve what we all want, which is energy security," Bush said.  "Azerbaijan has got a very important role to play and we discussed internal politics and we discussed the politics of the neighborhood as well."  After the meeting, Aliev said that "Azerbaijan, as a neighbor, naturally feels a certain concern" about the situation with Iran.  "But there is common understanding that the resolution of this question (should come) by diplomatic means, and this makes us feel confident that everything will be settled peacefully," he said.  Aliev also said he had discussed the progress of democratic reforms in his country with Bush and "we have no differences over this."  "The United States helps to promote democracy in our country, which is in our interests," he said.

Ahead of the meeting, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov called Iran "our big neighbor" and emphasized that the two countries "share history, culture and religion."  He said Iran guarantees Azerbaijan transit rights for land shipments and provides gas supplies to its Nakhichevan enclave, cut off by Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.  "All this plays a great role when we speak about the situation around Iran," he said.