Experts on John Kerry's visit to Azerbaijan

US Secretary of State John Kerry is going to pay a visit to Azerbaijan soon. Vestnik Kavkaza discussed the coming visit with Azerbaijani lawmakers Asim Mollazade and Rasim Musabekov and Deputy Head of the Plekhanov Russian Economic University Sergey Markov.

According to Asim Mallazade, the aim of Kerry's visit is to strengthen US-Azerbaijani ties. "Our countries successfully cooperate in the sphere of security. Azerbaijan is an active member of the anti-terror coalition. I believe the visit is indeed well-timed, as the situation surrounding Ukraine is really tense," he says.

Rasim Musabekov believes the visit seems quite logical, if one takes into consideration the unique role of Azerbaijan, which maintains a balance between the US and Russia and is situated close to the Middle East.

The Crimean crisis will indeed be on the agenda, the lawmaker says. According to him, Kerry will probable give some advice to the Azerbaijani leadership. However Musabekov doesn't believe that any certain agreement will be signed during the visit. Neither does he believe that any unexpected statement will be issued as a result.

Sergey Markov thinks the Secretary of State will pursue Azerbaijan to stop its cooperation with Russia in the sphere of the oil and gas industry. The expert believes as well that Kerry will soon visit other neighbouring states in order to increase pressure on Russia.