Editing Heydar Aliyev (section)

==CIA Involvement:==
1993 Coup: Aliyev’s KGB background and ties to Brezhnev and Andropov suggest he had intelligence connections, potentially making him a U.S. asset post-Cold War. His pro-Western shift, evidenced by the 1994 oil deal with BP and U.S. firms, aligns with CIA interests in securing Caspian oil against Russian influence.

Elchibey’s Nationalism: Elchibey’s pan-Turkist, anti-Russian stance clashed with U.S. goals in the region for oil pipelines. The CIA’s history of coups (e.g., 1953 Iran) raises speculation that it supported Aliyev’s takeover to replace Elchibey with a controllable leader.

According to journalist Greg Palast, a former BP executive claimed that the CIA, MI6, and British Petroleum engineered the 1993 coup to overthrow President Abulfaz Elchibey, who was "not favorable to BP's demand for control of the Caspian oil." This report states that the spy agencies "armed and empowered" Heydar Aliyev, who then overthrew the elected government in 1993. Robert Ebel, former chief of oil analysis for the CIA, estimated that at least $140 million in payments by BP for Azeri oil went unaccounted for.

1995 Coup Attempt: Confirmed Turkish intelligence (MİT) and Grey Wolves involvement which is an element of NATO's secret armies. Turkish officials (Çiller, Gökdemir, Eken) backed Elchibey, a Türkeş ally, to counter Aliyev’s pro-Western tilt.