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BAKU: Aliyev, Armitage reaffirm development of Azeri-U.S. relations

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  • BAKU: Aliyev, Armitage reaffirm development of Azeri-U.S. relations

    Azer News, Azerbaijan
    April 1 2004

    Aliyev, Armitage reaffirm development of Azeri-U.S. relations

    One of last week's most important political events was the official
    visit by first US Assistant Secretary of State, Richard Armitage to
    Baku. The visit was part of a regional tour which included Ukraine
    and Armenia. According to

    Elizabeth Jones, Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia,
    the goal of Armitage's visit to Azerbaijan was to "study priority
    directions of the Azeri President and his government's activity".
    "Armitage has been preparing for this visit for a long time. The goal
    of the visit is to discuss with the top officials ways to develop
    relations between the three countries," Jones underlined.
    Particularly, cooperation in fighting terrorism, economic reforms,
    energy, and the situation in the region were in focus during the Baku
    talks.

    `It is the first time U.S. officials have had such a high level
    meeting in Azerbaijan since Ilham Aliyev's election as President of
    Azerbaijan. From this standpoint, the United States is interested in
    studying the priority directions of the new President and his
    government's activity. The relations between Richard Armitage and
    Ilham Aliyev set good groundwork for talks. Armitage is also expected
    to meet leaders of the opposition and NGO structures,' she stated.
    Armitage, who arrived in Baku Friday evening after visiting Yerevan,
    left Azerbaijan Saturday afternoon. While in Baku, he had meetings
    with President Aliyev, leaders of two opposition parties and
    pro-government and independent political figures at the US Embassy in
    Baku. He also briefed journalists at the airport before his
    departure. Armitage also had a closed-door meeting with President
    Aliyev on Saturday. Afterwards, the meeting was opened to other
    participants. Noting that bilateral cooperation is developing rapidly
    in all spheres, President Aliyev said large scale energy projects
    were being implemented in Azerbaijan with support from the United
    States. Underlining that the U.S. government has assisted Azerbaijan
    in carrying out economic reforms in the country, Aliyev voiced his
    hope for the US's support for the implementation of the
    socio-economic development program in the future. Aliyev said, `We
    are confident that this cooperation will strengthen in the future.
    Azerbaijan is in alliance with the United States to combat terrorism.
    We are allies and this policy will continue. All this shows that our
    countries' successful cooperation will deepen in the future.' Stating
    that the Upper Garabagh conflict presents great difficulties to
    regional security, the Azerbaijani President underscored that peace
    would be established in the region soon. `We hope that the OSCE Minsk
    Group plays an active role in the settlement of the conflict and
    Azerbaijani lands are liberated from the Armenian occupation within
    international legal norms.

    `No plans for military bases' - Armitage
    I appreciate your visit to Azerbaijan and I am sure that the
    relations between us and our countries will develop after this
    visit,' Aliyev stressed. Armitage, in his turn, thanked President
    Aliyev and the Azerbaijani people for supporting the United States in
    fighting terrorism. `Azerbaijan is in coalition with us and takes
    part in joint operations. I would like to particularly mention the
    courageous service of the Azerbaijani military personnel who are
    assisting us in Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, our aim is to reach a
    higher level in bilateral economic, political, military and social
    cooperation.' Touching upon the conflict over Upper Garabagh, the
    U.S. official said that his country wanted the conflict to be settled
    peacefully. `We believe that the Caucasus may become a very good
    partner of the West in the future. However, above all, the existing
    problems in the Caucasus should be solved. Therefore, I have great
    confidence in talks with you.'

    `No plans for military bases'
    Talking to a Saturday news conference for local and foreign media at
    Bina Airport prior to departure, Richard Armitage said that the
    stationing of U.S. military bases in Azerbaijan was not discussed
    with President Aliyev and his country didn't have such a plan.
    Armitage said he was satisfied with the results of his Baku visit. He
    extended his gratitude to President Aliyev for the participation of
    the Azerbaijani military in peacekeeping operations in Iraq. Stating
    that the issue of freedom of press in Azerbaijan was also discussed
    during the meeting, Armitage said President Aliyev pledged that
    public television would become independent. He added that, "Ilham
    Aliyev is promoting the development of the open-minded and
    progressive individual". Underlining that the status of human rights
    in Azerbaijan remains unsatisfactory, Armitage said, "The situation
    in this field could be better". Touching upon the settlement of the
    Upper Garabagh conflict, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State said that
    the OSCE Minsk Group was only a mediator on this matter. He also
    expressed his hope that the conflicting sides would reach agreement.
    Stating that it would be good if borders between Turkey and Armenia
    opened, Armitage said that during the meeting President Aliyev
    stressed that opening the Turkish-Armenian borders would negatively
    affect the resolution of the conflict. In reply to a question about
    the stationing the U.S. military bases in Azerbaijan, Armitage said
    that this issue was not discussed with President Aliyev and his
    country didn't have any plans to do so. It is also indicative that
    besides Gambar and Karimli, the meeting was also attended by Garayev
    and Imanov, who are often referred to as possible leaders of the new
    opposition. Furthermore, the pro-government wing was represented by
    S.Sayidov and A.Mammadkhanov, who are deemed in the West as the
    "young reformers" of President Aliyev's team. The Chairman of the
    Party of National Independence of Azerbaijan (PNIA) Etibar Mammadov,
    who often takes part in such meetings, was not present. This could be
    explained by the fact that Mammadov has not made many public
    appearances since the presidential elections. Asked of the US
    military assistance to Azerbaijan, Armitage said that Azerbaijan
    supported military action in Iraq and Afghanistan, which put a heavy
    burden on Baku. It is for this reason that Baku is receiving greater
    military assistance from Washington than Armenia. Also, Azerbaijan is
    supplying fuel for US aircraft en route to Iraq, which also promotes
    increased US financial assistance to Azerbaijan. However, the volume
    of US economic aid to Armenia is greater than that to Azerbaijan and
    other countries in the region, Armitage added.
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