Azernews.Az

Iran's nuclear program poses a threat to the region, and Azerbaijan in particular, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Richard Lugar said on a visit to Baku Monday.
"The world community should continue to keep track of Iran, as if it gets the opportunity to produce a nuclear weapon, this will set a precedent for others," the senator said.
Western powers and Iran have been facing a long-standing dispute over Tehran's nuclear program. Iran insists its uranium enrichment activities are for civil use only and dismisses allegations that it is trying to build an atomic bomb.
He said there were other threats as well. For instance, Soviet-era elements of the weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) that should be destroyed remain in Russia and Armenia.
"In Russia alone, there are 13,400 nuclear warheads, and no laboratories are available to test them. As for Azerbaijan, it is closely cooperating with the United States on the issue of WMDs, and we removed these elements from the country back in 2005. The US secret service is doing everything it can to ensure regional security," the committee chairman said.
Lugar arrived in Azerbaijan on Sunday and met with President Ilham Aliyev on the same day. Aliyev said the relations between Azerbaijan and the United States will be further expanded, stressing that the successful cooperation would contribute to security of the region. He also expressed hope that Lugar's visit to Azerbaijan would promote the development of partnership in strategic fields.
Lugar, for his part, cited firm partnership relations between Azerbaijan and the United States. He hailed Azerbaijan's active participation in the anti-terror coalition, adding that his visit was a good opportunity to become closely familiar with the developments in the country.