Azerbaijani Leader Flies to Moscow, May Seek Russian Troops

Facing military disaster and domestic chaos, Azerbaijani leader Geidar Aliyev flew to Moscow on Sunday amid speculation that he may request Russian peacekeeping troops to help quell the escalating war with the Armenians.

Aliyev also gratefully accepted an offer by Iran’s ambassador to Baku to help the estimated 100,000 Azerbaijani refugees who have fled an Armenian offensive into southwestern Azerbaijan, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.

The fighting, which has spread to within a few miles of the Iranian border, has gravely worried Iran, Turkey, Russia and even Israel, which fears increased influence by Islamic Iran on Muslim Azerbaijan.

International aid officials estimate that up to 10,000 Azerbaijani refugees may have crossed the Araks River into Iran. Tens of thousands more are stranded in southwestern Azerbaijan, all but encircled by ethnic Armenian troops from the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Over 10 million ethnic Azeris live in northern Iran. On Sunday, Aliyev said he could not guarantee that Iranian “volunteers” were not crossing the border to help their brethren fight the Armenians.

Turkey has also reported that Iranian troops have crossed the Azerbaijan border. On Friday, however, U.S. officials said they could not confirm these reports.

“There are plenty of areas where the border is not very well marked, and it would be easy for the Iranians to cross,” a U.S. official said.

State Department spokeswoman Nancy Beck said the United States “agrees that the Armenians should withdraw from recently occupied territory in Azerbaijan and has been pressing them to do so.”

Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s acting president, is a former member of the Soviet Politburo. Since he was elected Speaker of Parliament in June, he has attempted to broaden the pro-Turkish tilt of his predecessor, ousted President Abulfez Elchibey, and establish better relations with both Russia and Iran.

For much of the five-year war over Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan has accused Russian army officers and irregulars of siding with the Christian Armenians. Six Russians captured by Azerbaijan this summer were convicted of serving as mercenaries for the Armenians and sentenced to death. In a sign of Aliyev’s new thaw, however, last week Azerbaijan handed the six men over to Russia.

Aliyev has also signaled his intention to include Russian enterprises in Azerbaijani oil exploration deals that Western and Turkish companies had hoped to keep to themselves.

During his meetings in Moscow, Aliyev is expected to ask for “dividends” in the form of better relations with Russia and credits worth up to $5 million, Azerbaijani sources said.

In addition, Azerbaijan’s Parliament recently expressed support for joining the Commonwealth of Independent States, to which Armenia belongs. Aliyev may explore the possibility of Commonwealth membership during scheduled meetings with Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin, Prime Minister Viktor S. Chernomyrdin and Foreign Minister Andrei V. Kozyrev.

As a Commonwealth member, Azerbaijan could request peacekeeping troops to help protect its borders, just as Tajikistan has Russian peacekeepers patrolling its border with Afghanistan.

Times staff writers Doyle McManus and Art Pine in Washington contributed to this report.