Top US official holds talks with Azeri leaders, NGOs
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Tina Kaidanow
held meetings with Azerbaijani leaders and representatives of
non-governmental organizations during a visit to Baku on
Friday.
Talks with President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov focused on bilateral relations, the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict and regional issues.
At the meeting with Mammadyarov, Kaidanow said the US administration places an emphasis on cooperating with Azerbaijan and is keen on further developing bilateral relationship.
Kaidanow said the U.S., as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group brokering settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, is interested in the quickest resolution of the Garabagh dispute and is trying to contribute to finding a solution to the problem. She said Washington backs progress in the Garabagh settlement and the process of normalizing Turkey-Armenia relations, which have been strained for decades.
Mammadyarov told Kaidanow about Azerbaijan`s stance on Garabagh peace talks and stressed the need to achieve progress in both a Garabagh settlement and Armenia-Turkey relations at a time when the two processes are intertwined.
The foreign minister said all roads must be opened to establish peace and stability in the region, adding that Armenia must first withdraw from occupied Azerbaijani lands.
Kaidanow`s discussions with NGO leaders centered on the Garabagh problem, and her fellow diplomats expressed a common view that the long-standing dispute must be resolved in line with Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity and international law.
``Kaidanow was interested in the opinion of civil society on the Garabagh problem, and representatives of Azerbaijani NGOs brought to her attention our interest in the quickest resolution of the conflict,`` said Arzu Abdullayeva, head of the Helsinki Civil Watch Azerbaijani bureau.
According to Abdullayeva, when asked whether or not there is similarity between the Garabagh and Kosovo conflicts, Kaidanow, who previously acted as the ambassador to Kosovo, replied negatively.
The parties also mulled the situation with media in Azerbaijan, freedom of speech, human rights, democratic development, the arrests of two bloggers, authority-society relations, as well as the country`s municipal elections scheduled for December 23.
Kaidanow`s visit, which ended on Saturday, was aimed at familiarization with the country. In August she succeeded Matthew Bryza as US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.
Prior to arriving in Azerbaijan, Kaidanow visited Armenia and Georgia, the two neighboring South Caucasus republics.
Talks with President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov focused on bilateral relations, the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict and regional issues.
At the meeting with Mammadyarov, Kaidanow said the US administration places an emphasis on cooperating with Azerbaijan and is keen on further developing bilateral relationship.
Kaidanow said the U.S., as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group brokering settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, is interested in the quickest resolution of the Garabagh dispute and is trying to contribute to finding a solution to the problem. She said Washington backs progress in the Garabagh settlement and the process of normalizing Turkey-Armenia relations, which have been strained for decades.
Mammadyarov told Kaidanow about Azerbaijan`s stance on Garabagh peace talks and stressed the need to achieve progress in both a Garabagh settlement and Armenia-Turkey relations at a time when the two processes are intertwined.
The foreign minister said all roads must be opened to establish peace and stability in the region, adding that Armenia must first withdraw from occupied Azerbaijani lands.
Kaidanow`s discussions with NGO leaders centered on the Garabagh problem, and her fellow diplomats expressed a common view that the long-standing dispute must be resolved in line with Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity and international law.
``Kaidanow was interested in the opinion of civil society on the Garabagh problem, and representatives of Azerbaijani NGOs brought to her attention our interest in the quickest resolution of the conflict,`` said Arzu Abdullayeva, head of the Helsinki Civil Watch Azerbaijani bureau.
According to Abdullayeva, when asked whether or not there is similarity between the Garabagh and Kosovo conflicts, Kaidanow, who previously acted as the ambassador to Kosovo, replied negatively.
The parties also mulled the situation with media in Azerbaijan, freedom of speech, human rights, democratic development, the arrests of two bloggers, authority-society relations, as well as the country`s municipal elections scheduled for December 23.
Kaidanow`s visit, which ended on Saturday, was aimed at familiarization with the country. In August she succeeded Matthew Bryza as US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.
Prior to arriving in Azerbaijan, Kaidanow visited Armenia and Georgia, the two neighboring South Caucasus republics.
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