Reports: Putin to Urge Aliyev to Join ‘Anti-Georgian Alliance’

Russian President Vladimir Putin will try to convince his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev, who is visiting Moscow on November 9, to join an “anti-Georgian alliance,” the Russian daily Kommersant reported on Thursday.

“It seems that the creation of a joint front against Georgia within the CIS is very important for Russia. One of the major issues that is expected to be discussed during the [Putin-Aliyev] talks is Azerbaijani’s participation in an energy blockade against Georgia during the winter period,” Kommersant says.

Georgia is currently in talks with Azerbaijan in an effort to buy more Shah-Deniz gas than is already allocated in the current agreement. Tbilisi hopes to reduce the amount of expensive Russian gas that it concumes with relatively cheap Shah-Deniz gas.

Aliyev came to Moscow after a trip to Brussels, where he said that Azerbaijan wants ties between Georgia and Russia to improve and that Baku “is building a strategic partnership” with both of countries.

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