Azernews.Az

The Foreign Ministries of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan on Monday held political consultations, the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.

The Azerbaijani delegation was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov, while the Uzbek delegation - - by Deputy Foreign Minister Komil Rashidov.

Khalafov expressed satisfaction with the high level of relations between the two countries.

Khalafov said that it is important to expand the existing cooperation between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan in various fields, including culture, education and humanitarian aid.

According to him, Azerbaijan with the leading economy in the South Caucasus has a dynamic development.

Informing visitors about the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, Khalafov said that the problem is a major obstacle to cooperation in the region and Armenia is deliberately delaying negotiations on its peaceful resolution.

Bringing to the attention of the Uzbek delegation that the status quo in the conflict is unacceptable, the Deputy Minister noted that Armenia must withdraw the armed forces from the occupied Azerbaijani territories in order to ensure lasting peace and stability in the region.

Rashidov, in turn, said that his country, just like in the past, supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

The Uzbek official praised the fraternal relations between the peoples of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

He said he was impressed with the rapid development in Azerbaijan.

Rashidov stressed the importance of cooperation between the two countries in the transport, infrastructure, trade, energy and law enforcement.

According to him, Uzbekistan is interested in expansion of cooperation.