Azeri leader will not join any Iran operation

WASHINGTON, Apr28 (Reuters) Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, due to meet US President George W Bush today, has ruled out any role for his ex-Soviet state if the United States took military action against his neighbor Iran.

''Azerbaijan, of course, will not be engaged in any kind of potential operations against Iran,'' Aliyev, a fluent English speaker, told a news conference in Washington Wednesday. ''It is time to stop speculating on that issue.'' He said the two countries had a bilateral agreement under which neither could allow their territory to be used to endanger the other.

In response, a US administration official said the United states had not asked Azerbaijan for any military help on Iran, so Aliyev ''answered a question that wasn't asked.'' The two leaders were expected to share their views on Iran during today's meeting, but the United States was pursuing a diplomatic track at the United Nations on Tehran's nuclear ambitions, the official said on condition of anonymity.

''We're not out soliciting military allies right now,'' he said.

Azerbaijan is one of only two states with a Muslim majority that sent combat troops to help U.S. forces in Iraq.

With a 600-km border with Iran, Azerbaijan's help could be significant if the Iranian confrontation with the West over its nuclear program ever led to military action.

Short of that, closing Azerbaijan's border with Iran would be a key part of any blockade to stop Tehran importing goods and weapons.

As a Shi'ite Muslim nation, Azerbaijan has ethnic and religious ties to Iran, which would make its support for any action against Tehran psychologically significant.

Many analysts saw Bush's invitation to Aliyev, despite international criticism of his democracy record, as a sign that Washington wanted his support in the Iran dispute.

But Aliyev made clear that a war on the territory of a neighbor and a strong economic partner would seriously jeopardize Azerbaijan's national security.

''We are part of the region,'' he said. ''For us, Iran is not a remote issue, which you watch on TV and can switch to another channel. For us it's an issue of our security.'' REUTERS AD RAI0533