20th anniversary of establishment of Azerbaijan-US diplomatic relations celebrated in Washington
Washington, March 1 (AZERTAC). US Department of State celebrated the 20th anniversary of establishment of Azerbaijan-US diplomatic relations here. The event organized jointly with Azerbaijan`s Embassy was attended by the US state officials, businessmen, heads of US`s authoritative think-tanks, representatives of dip corps accredited in Washington as well as Azerbaijani, Turkish and Jewish communities.
In his opening remarks Azerbaijan`s Ambassador to the US Elin Suleymanov said Embassy of the United States started operations soon after Azerbaijan regained its independence. Strong ties established between the two countries served not only development of our country, but also development of the whole region, strengthening independence of countries of the region as well as shared interests of Azerbaijan and the US, Suleymanov added.
The Azerbaijani Ambassador also spoke of achievements over this period, including commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, cooperation in international security, efforts towards integration of the region, and others. He underlined that when the US came to the region it was the only donor, while others were recipients. Azerbaijan has also become the donor of the region as a result of its rapid development. We are proud of this fact, he said.
Speaking at the event Assistant Secretary of the US Department of State Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Gordon stated that representatives of the Congress, the US military, State Department, the Defense Department, the White House including General Scowcroft, Governor Sununu and others are attending the event and “it underscores the importance of this relationship”.
“It`s of course not a surprise, it speaks to the importance that President Obama, Secretary Clinton place on the relationship with Azerbaijan. When the Secretary visited Baku last year - I was pleased to be able to accompany her to Azerbaijan - she said very clearly that the bonds between the United States and Azerbaijan are deep, important and durable. We have been building on those bonds in the 20 years since diplomatic relations were established and these links are on multiple fronts but three core areas are really of central importance to the relationship. Those are the areas of security, energy and political and economic reform”, Gordon emphasized.
Mr. Gordon said: “On security, no issue is more important than our commitment to a peaceful and fair settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. As a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, the United States continues to work closely with the sides to achieve a lasting negotiated settlement. Secretary Clinton follows the issue extraordinarily closely and has invested a lot of her time and attention on the issue. It is a commitment that goes to the highest levels of our government and we look forward to working with you. We`re determined to move forward.”
The US official hailed Azerbaijan`s achievements over the past 20 years. “A strong, independent, prosperous and democratic Azerbaijan will always be a friend and a partner for the United States”, he added.
The other attendees of the event shared their opinion with AZERTAC.
Governor Sununu said the national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev did a lot for strengthening US-Azerbaijan relationship, and President Ilham Aliyev continues this approach today. Azerbaijan is lucky having a leader who values strong ties between the two countries. This is useful both for Americans and Azerbaijanis.
Former Congressman, co-chair and co-founder of the US Congress Working Group on Azerbaijan Solomon Ortiz stressed that they created Working Group to help democratic Azerbaijan. The number of the group`s members is increasing day by day. Azerbaijan is one of the allies of the US. We work together in international security sphere.
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