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Former US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Richard Kozlarich has published an article that analyzed the relationship between the US and Azerbaijan on the background of anti-American report of the head of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan Ramiz Mehdiyev. The article is published on the website “Brookings Institution”.

"Relations between the US and Azerbaijan are clearly in a serious crisis," writes Kozlarich and notes that in his article Mehdiyev accused the US of interfering in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan and of using the opposition forces and NGOs to promote a "color revolution" and said, Azerbaijan should move away from the dominant world power.

Kozlarich indicates that the publication of Mehdiyev’s article was accompanied by the attacks on the United States in the Azerbaijani press, as well as raids on the office of the Azerbaijani service of "Radio Liberty" and the arrest of journalists who have been associated with the organization.

The supposed guilt of those harassed and arrested activists is that they cast doubt on the validity of the elections, as a result of which Aliyev remained in power. The others are guilty in criticizing the regime. A number of analysts and opposition activists were arrested on charges of treason and for supporting Armenia or spying for the United States. Accusations were also addressed to the US officials, including the employees of Congress, US ambassadors (the Minsk Group included), and even the president of the United States.

Kozlarich believes that the reason for the deterioration of relations between the US and Azerbaijan has served the Aliyev regime, which while trying to become a strategic partner of the US, has been disappointed being faced with persistent efforts of the Washington to put Azerbaijan on the path of democratic development. "There were no bilateral presidential meetings to enhance the international reputation and the "image" of Azerbaijan, and there is not a single photo of a handshake of Ilham Aliyev with the US president in the Oval Office," the author writes about the reasons of disappointment of the Aliyev regime.

Kozlarich indicates that the Azerbaijani regime is also concerned about the recent fall of energy prices in the world, for as a result of the fall of government revenues, which are almost entirely dependent on the energy sector, additional economic stress will rise. "All of this has increased the regime's paranoia about the foreign intervention (and not only from the US)," said the former ambassador, pointing out that Mehdiyev’s report and internal repression coincided with the most serious military clashes with Armenia since 1994. This was followed by a wave of verbal attacks on the OSCE Minsk Group and the United States because they do not impose a solution to the conflict in favor of Azerbaijan.

Against this background, the relations between Azerbaijan and the United States should be based on the new reality created by Mehdiyev, the author believes, alluding to the fact that in the context of development in the global energy market, access to energy resources of Azerbaijan is no longer the crucial political motivation, as it was 20 years ago. Considering also the possibility of normalization of US relations with Iran, as well as the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Kozlarich indicates that the importance of Azerbaijan for Washington falls both in the fields of energy, and security.