Azernews.Az

US Vice-President Dick Cheney`s visit to Baku due next week underscores the importance of cooperation between the United States and Azerbaijan, Ambassador Anne Derse has said.
Derse told the press Tuesday that the visit shows her country`s commitment to deepening its strategic cooperation with the South Caucasus republic.
Cheney will be in Azerbaijan as part of his tour during which he is also expected to head to Georgia and Ukraine. He will be the first top US official to visit the region after Russia`s military intervention in Georgia, the White House said on Monday.
Derse said the U.S. and Azerbaijan are partners on ensuring regional and global security. The two countries have so far acted jointly in Iraq and Afghanistan and worked together in strengthening Azerbaijan`s borders. This partnership, she said, also covers strategic energy projects that link the entire region with the West.
"We want to work with Baku in determining where and how energy resources will be taken, for the sake of the interests of the Azerbaijani people and energy consumers.
"The U.S. stands by Azerbaijan, and democracy and market reform is a key to the country`s long-term success," said Derse.
The ambassador said that during his visit to Tbilisi, the US vice-president will express his government`s support for the Georgian people. She said Washington fully backed Georgia`s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Derse said the statements issued and steps taken by the United States following the Russian incursion in Georgia were not aimed to threaten. She said most believe that Moscow`s actions pose a threat not only to Georgia but also to other aspiring democracies.
Derse emphasized that sovereign nations like Azerbaijan and Georgia were determining their political course on their own. "In doing so, they can rely on the United States` support and cooperation. Vice-President Cheney`s visit will be another indication of this support."