Azernews.Az

BAKU – The present level of U.S.-Azerbaijan relations is "satisfactory" and cooperation is developing steadily both on a bilateral basis and within international organizations, covering more fields, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in a letter to his US counterpart Barack Obama sent on the occasion of the United States’ Independence Day.

"We are determined to contribute to ensuring strategically important energy security, and our partnership in the fight against terrorism," President Aliyev wrote in his congratulatory message.

"I am sure we will steadily continue our cooperation to pursue the policy of building of democratic, legal state and implementation of large-scale economic projects."

Aliyev wrote that the United States` interest in the establishment of peace and stability in the region is crucial for Azerbaijan.

"We are hopeful that efforts of Your, Mr. President, your country, as OSCE Minsk Group co-chair to solve fairly and in line with international legal norms the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, which resulted in violation of territorial integrity of our country, occupation of our lands and displacement of our countrymen from their homes, will bring its benefits very soon."

About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including Nagorno Karabakh, has been under the occupation of Armenian armed forces since a brutal war in the 1990s. Mediators from Russia, the United States and France have led negotiations on Karabakh settlement but little progress has been made so far.