Rumours spread of US deployment in Azerbaijan

Deployment of NATO forces in Azerbaijan for safeguarding the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan export pipeline has been a topic of heated discussions in the local and Russian media, as well as the international press. The US media, meanwhile, has reported on the earliest removal of the NATO contingent based in Germany.
The Turkish Hurriyyet newspaper quoted the US Wall Street Journal as reporting that the United States is expected to send 15,000  troops to Azerbaijan to ensure the security of oil pipelines.
The report runs that the United States also intends to send a military contingent to the oil rich regions of Africa, primarily replacing a number of its military bases in Germany. The Pentagon said the replacement comes as part of the war against terrorism.
According to Russian media reports, the United States is willing to dislocate its several military bases and deploy them near oil regions, including in Azerbaijan to ensure the security of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main export oil pipeline.
No deployment request
Commenting on the issue, Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov regarded all reports of the kind as misinformation.
"The key term for deployment of NATO forces in the country is appeal by the Azerbaijani government to the alliance. As far as I know, the Azerbaijani government has not made such an appeal thus far".
US denial
In an interview with AssA-Irada last week the US President's special envoy for Caspian issues Steven Mann described reports of the imminent deployment of US troops in Azerbaijan as groundless rumors.
Furthermore, the US ambassador to Azerbaijan Ross Wilson said that his government is not planning to station any troops in Azerbaijan, or to bring forces from the Incirlik military base in Turkey to threaten Iran.
"The US concerns over Iran are related to the violation of human rights and the situation with the weaponry of mass destruction, as the issue should be settled diplomatically" Mr. Wilson insisted.
The US envoy stressed his country would hold consultations with the Azerbaijani government on Iran (as it did on Iraq and Afghanistan).