Ahmadinejad Visits Baku as Azerbaijan Attempts to Balance U.S., Iran Relations

BAKU, Azerbaijan -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinajad paid his first official visit to northern neighbor Azerbaijan last week (Aug.21-22), aiming to counter growing U.S. influence in the oil-rich country and forestall further advances on a move to allow American use of the Russian-operated Gabala Radar Station in Azerbaijan.

Ahmedinajad and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev emphasized the ethnic, religious and economic ties between the two nations on the Caspian Sea, but security and defense issues were the focus of the talks. ...