Azernews.Az

By Vafa Ismayilova

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have discussed bilateral ties and Joe Biden’s recent statement on 1915 events, Azertag has reported.

In a telephone conversation that took place on April 28 upon Blinken’s initiative, the US secretary of state touched on the development of Azerbaijan-US bilateral relations and stressed the importance of further strengthening the ties.

Speaking about energy and regional security cooperation, Blinken emphasized the significance of the Southern Gas Corridor project’s implementation. He also hailed Azerbaijan's participation in the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan, the report said.

Aliyev thanked Blinken for the telephone call. The head of state underlined that Azerbaijani-US relations have a rich history, and once again thanked the US government for supporting the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project. He touched on regional security cooperation and stressed the importance of Azerbaijan's participation in the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan from the initial stage.

During the conversation, the parties focused on the situation after the Armenian-Azerbaijani war. Aliyev affirmed Azerbaijan's position on this issue and noted that the restoration of Azerbaijan's Armenian-destroyed territories is underway. He also noted the significance of opening the regional communications and stressed Azerbaijan's position on ensuring long-term peace. Aliyev and Blinken also discussed the OSCE Minsk Group’s future activities.

As regards the US president's recent statement on the so-called Armenian genocide, Aliyev described Turkey as Azerbaijan's close friend and ally, which played a critical and positive role in the region in the post-war period. He added that the Azerbaijani leadership and the public met Biden’s statement with concern.

During the phone conversation, the sides stressed the development of democratic processes, the importance of ensuring human rights, preservation, and ensuring of political pluralism in Azerbaijan.

Antony Blinken said this year too the waiver of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act was extended.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz