Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

The United States has a very long-standing partnership with the Government of Azerbaijan in security issues, said Michael Carpenter, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense.

Carpenter, who is on visit to Baku, told reporters on November 1 that the U.S.-Azerbaijan partnership in security is “one of the most important pillars of our bilateral relations”.

The official mentioned that the U.S. has spent over $60 million on security cooperation in Azerbaijan since 2002.

“Over 25 years of Azerbaijan’s independence, the U.S. and Azerbaijan have had a partnership on a range of issues, including counterterrorism, cyber security, maritime security and others,” he added.

Noting that the U.S. is interested in long-standing peace and stability in Azerbaijan, Carpenter also thanked Azerbaijan for the contributions of its peacekeeping mission to the resolute support to Afghanistan.

As part of the Baku visit, Carpenter held several meetings with the Azerbaijani officials to mull issues of the defense and security.

During his meeting with Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov, the sides discussed prospects of expanding bilateral military cooperation between the two countries, including the cooperation in security and defense spheres, as well as the issues of military education and medical training.

The U.S. military official said that his country is interested in expanding and strengthening cooperation with Azerbaijan in the spheres of security and defense and further continuing activity in this direction.

Praising the combat readiness of the Azerbaijani Army, Carpenter emphasized that the staff has modern and new weapons and is able to quickly respond to any threat.

Hasanov, in turn, spoke about military cooperation programs between Azerbaijan and the U.S, as well as about Azerbaijan’s contribution to the non-combat mission in Afghanistan.

Informing the guest about the military and political situation in the region, Zakir Hasanov emphasized that Armenia poses a real threat to the stability in the South Caucasus.

The minister also noted that Armenia, not respecting the norms and principles of international law, continues to occupy the Azerbaijani territories, and despite the efforts of mediators, carries out acts of sabotage on the contact line of the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops and aggravates the situation.

To discuss cooperation between the two countries in the field of defense, counterterrorism and peacekeeping operations, Carpenter also met with Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov. The sides also discussed the prospects for the Azerbaijan–U.S .relations, as well as the regional issues of mutual concern.

The U.S. military official highly appreciated the provision of transit possibilities for the U.S. and allies by Azerbaijan.

Touching upon the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Mammadyarov informed the guest about the current state of negotiations to solve the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, saying Armenia pursues an unconstructive policy and resorts to various provocations.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

--

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz