De Hoop Scheffer is on a two-day visit to the Caucasus, a region that hosts a massive pipeline to carry Caspian Sea oil to the West but is torn apart by three separatist conflicts.

De Hoop Scheffer is scheduled to meet defense officials in Baku and address students at the Baku State University Friday morning.

He arrives in Azerbaijan form Georgia and is expected to leave for high level talks in Armenia Friday afternoon. All three Caucasus countries are signatories to NATO's partnership for peace plan.

"One thing (de Hoop Scheffer) will say is that we, as NATO, are interested in stability in the region," a spokesman for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Brussels said when asked what the military alliance's chief would discuss here.

Aliyev has pledged to hold to the course set out by his father, Heidar, whom he succeeded as president last year, and further integrate into Euro-Atlantic structures.

But he has stopped short of asking for NATO membership as Azerbaijan navigates the choppy diplomatic waters between the US-backed military alliance and its cold war foe Russia.

Although oil-rich, Azerbaijan's underdeveloped energy sector and stunted economy still rely on its biggest trade partner and the traditional power broker in the region Russia, were an estimated 2 million Azeris live.

Heidar Aliyev, who died last December, had offered NATO the opportunity to open military bases on its territory, said Vafa Guluzade, a former aide to the late Aliyev.

"The offer was met with silence and smiles, so I think NATO is not ready for us yet. We should wait until they are before making announcements that would irritate Russia and Iran," Guluzade said.

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