Foreign

Foreign

US First Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg: â€œAzerbaijan and the United States have strong strategic partnership and we intend to develop this partnershipâ€

24 February 2011 14:34 (UTC +04:00)

He said his country attached great importance to its relations with Azerbaijan: â€œThe United States attaches great importance to its relations with Azerbaijan and intends to develop this relationship. There is a strong strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and the United States. We intend to develop and deepen this partnershipâ€.

James Steinberg noted that US supports Azerbaijanâ€™s participation in NATO peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan.

The Deputy Secretary of State said he would meet with the President of Azerbaijan and representatives of the civil society and discuss the regional and bilateral relations during the meetings.

The US official said they welcomed anti-corruption measures and democratic reforms in Azerbaijan and hoped that this process would be developed.

The guest said US was closely participating in the negotiations on Karabakh problem within the OSCE Minsk Group and advocating for peaceful solution to the conflict on the basis of Helsinki principles.

Steinberg said he learned Armeniaâ€™s position on Karabakh problem during his visit to Yerevan. â€œI will learn President Ilham Aliyevâ€™s position now and we would like two sides make efforts to reach any common resultâ€, said Steinberg.