“The end of 2009 saw a significant cooling of relations between the United States and Azerbaijan”, The James Town Foundation article reads.

The author underlines that “frustration in Baku with Washington’s policies, if not addressed, might significantly damage the bilateral relationship in the long run and undermine US strategic objectives in the energy-rich Caspian region.

Foremost, Azerbaijani political circles have been annoyed by Washington’s year-long insistence and active push for the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border without putting the liberation of the occupied Azerbaijani territories as a pre-condition. This, Azerbaijani officials believe, not only damages Azerbaijan’s national interests, but also weakens the peace process on Karabakh, by making Armenia less willing to compromise in negotiations.”

The James Town Foundation quotes the head of Azerbaijani presidential administration Novruz Mammadov as saying, “While the US provides strong moral and financial support to Armenia, which occupies Azerbaijani lands, we do not see significant assistance to Azerbaijan on the part of Washington.”

The author pointed out that the decision by U.S. Congress to allocate $8 million in humanitarian assistance to Karabakh aroused protest in Baku. In its turn annual report on the “Freedom of the Press 2009” by Freedom House indicated Karabakh as Armenian-Azerbaijani territory. This position was considered as an insult by Baku.

“Yet, the fact that Azerbaijan more frequently expresses frustration and annoyance with US policies shows that US-Azerbaijani relations are experiencing strategic rather than merely tactical coolness,” the article says.