Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The prestigious San Diego Diplomacy Council hosted an evening on Azerbaijan in San Diego - the second largest city of California, on November 21.

Sponsored by the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles, the event was held at the Institute of the Americas of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).

The evening was attended by Board and regular members of the Diplomacy Council, university professors, experts, San Diego-based consuls of different countries, representatives of various San Diego institutions, as well as other participants.

Speaking at the event, Consul General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles Nasimi Aghayev informed the audience about Azerbaijan's rich and ancient culture, history, the country's steady development as an independent nation, its oil strategy, pro-active foreign policy, leading role in the region, as well as its multi-faceted partnership with the United States.

Highlighting the challenges faced by Azerbaijan, Aghayev spoke about the illegal military occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory by Armenia.

He said this illegal occupation is not only a flagrant breach of international law, but is also a huge violation of basic human rights.

Stating that "Armenia's future depends directly on its peace with Azerbaijan", Aghayev said that the Armenian leadership must finally grasp this reality.
Speaking of the ancient and strong traditions of tolerance in Azerbaijan, he characterized the country's ethnic and religious diversity as its richness and wealth.

The event continued then with the performance of Azerbaijani classical music by Los Angeles String Quartet under the guidance of famous cellist Ruslan Biryukov from Azerbaijan, who is also the graduate of the Baku Music Academy.
The Quartet played well-known compositions by great Azerbaijani composers such as Uzeyir Hajibeyli, Gara Garayev, Tofig Guliyev and Soltan Hajibeyov. The performance received multiple ovations.

The evening concluded with guests invited to enjoy various dishes and desserts of Azerbaijani national cuisine.