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Senator Chuck Hagel: The US will always support sovereignty of Azerbaijan - Exclusive

Senator Chuck Hagel: The US will always support sovereignty of Azerbaijan - <font color=red>Exclusive</font>

25 March 2009 07:46 (UTC +04:00)

Asked why the US did not react against the military offensive in Georgia and Russiaâ€™s illegal arm supply worth USD 800 to Armenia, Senator said that they did not change their plans against the Caucasus.
â€œThat will be my personal view that people of Azerbaijan and Georgia, and all the Caucasus are very important to the United States. It will continue to be important. That area of the world is a critical for many reasons. It is trade crossroad, it is a Caspian see energy, it borders Iran, and there are many areas of national interests of America. So Americans are not going to walk away from its interest area .We are talking about the sovereignty of nations, their independence and that is critically important. Azerbaijan is the sovereign nation, as Georgia and the importance of that sovereignty is fundamental. And I believe that the US will always support that,â€ he said.
Hagel was one of the main candidates for the post of Vice President during presidential elections in 2008. He was expected to be Defense Minister in new administration. Senator is Co-Chair of the Commission on U.S. Policy toward Russia.