Envoy: U.S. to remain Azerbaijan's reliable partner in energy security
By Aynur Jafarova
The relations between the U.S. and Azerbaijan are based on three major directions, U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan said on November 13.
The three directions consist of diversification of energy security and economy, human rights and democracy, and cooperation on security, Richard Morningstar said.
The U.S. is and will be Azerbaijan's reliable partner in the field of energy security, the Ambassador said at a meeting with the students of Azerbaijan State Economic University.
"We actively support Shah Deniz-2 project," he said.
According to Morningstar, cooperation on security includes Nagorno-Karabakh, Afghanistan, and fight against terrorism.
The ambassador went on to note that the U.S. also cooperates with Azerbaijan in the field of ICT, adding that the U.S. also supports Azerbaijan's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
"The WTO membership will play an important role in the emergence of a competitive private sector, and will facilitate achieving important goals. We provide technical support to the Ministry of Economy and Industry in order to assist and expedite the accession [of Azerbaijan] to the WTO," the ambassador said.
He also noted that his country supports Azerbaijan's initiative to open direct flights to the U.S.
According to the Ambassador, negotiations on this matter are currently underway with the Azerbaijani government.
"Currently, we are implementing a certification process that will allow Azerbaijani Airlines to carry out direct flights to the U.S.," the ambassador said.
Morningstar went on to note that negotiations on issuing the necessary licenses and certificates in security are currently underway.
"We are working to finalize an open skies agreement. We hope that this will ensure the implementation of direct flights in the near future," the Ambassador said.
Touching on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the U.S. ambassador said that as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk group, his country has made efforts to settle the conflict for 20 years.
"Working together with the Minsk group, we will do out best to reach a decision on this issue," he said.
According to him, settling this conflict is also in the interest of the neighboring countries.
"I believe that this issue may be resolved only when the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia- the main sides of the conflict- make a decision to settle this issue," Morningstar said.
He also expressed his confidence that during the upcoming meeting, the leaders of both countries will make a decision for the final settlement of this conflict and reach an agreement on specific matters.
According to him, if the leaders of the two countries reach an agreement on this issue, the Minsk group and high-ranking U.S. officials will assist them.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council's four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal have not been enforced to this day.
Peace talks, mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. through the OSCE Minsk Group, are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles. The negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.