Azerbaijan, famous only for its caviar and petroleum, is buying Australian government bonds, by joining a growing list of sovereign investors acquiring debt in Australia, Wall Street Journal informs.

The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan said it started buying Australian bonds in July when market data show the Australian dollar gained value for 3.4 percent over the month.

“The main purpose of these investments made within the company’s investment policy is diversification of its currency basket,” the fund said in written responses to questions from the Wall Street Journal.

The purchase of Australian dollar-denominated debt and assets by sovereign investors such as Azerbaijan is blamed by analysts and the central bank for helping to inflate the value of the currency

However, this activation by the Azerbaijani company regarding Australia looks suspicious in the light of the political processes, including quite warm relations between Yerevan and Canberra, as well as the activity of the Armenian community.

Moreover, this October, the Legislative Council of the Australian state of New South Wales adopted a resolution on the recognition of Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh] and the right of the Karabakh people to self-determination.

By adopting the resolution, the Legislative Council “called on the Australian Government to formally recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh and Australia to deepen relations with the country and its citizens.”

Thus, it is likely that the steps by Azerbaijan are connected with the desire to ‘neutralize’ the pro-Armenian trends in Australia.