Oil-rich Azerbaijan has responded to the Georgian crisis by reducing its reliance on trans-Caucasus oil pipelines, increasing shipments to Russia and starting to sell crude to Iran, in moves that will raise concerns in the US and the European Union.
Baku, which has cautiously nurtured ties with the west to counter strong Russian influence, initially portrayed the changes as temporary measures when the brief war between Georgia and Russia broke out in early August and the oil and gas routes across the Caucasus to the Black Sea and Turkey were shut down.
