US defense chief due in Baku Sunday
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates is due to arrive in Baku on
Sunday. Gates is expected to meet with President Ilham Aliyev, and
the next day, with Defense Minister Col. Gen. Safar Abiyev,
according to the US Department of Defense website.
Gates’ visit is part of his five-nation trip that begins with his participation in a major Asian security conference in Singapore.
"The secretary has not really had a chance to engage with them," Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said, "and this is an opportunity for him to express our appreciation, and also to figure out how we can work better together to maintain the level of support that is now flowing through Azerbaijan."
About a quarter of the supplies bound for U.S. forces in Afghanistan pass through Azerbaijan, the source said.
About 100 Azerbaijani peacekeepers are serving in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The country’s peacekeepers have been part of the coalition forces in the post-war country since 2002.*
Gates’ visit is part of his five-nation trip that begins with his participation in a major Asian security conference in Singapore.
"The secretary has not really had a chance to engage with them," Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said, "and this is an opportunity for him to express our appreciation, and also to figure out how we can work better together to maintain the level of support that is now flowing through Azerbaijan."
About a quarter of the supplies bound for U.S. forces in Afghanistan pass through Azerbaijan, the source said.
About 100 Azerbaijani peacekeepers are serving in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The country’s peacekeepers have been part of the coalition forces in the post-war country since 2002.*
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