Members of the U.S. Congress, Bill Shuster and Virginia Foxx made congratulatory speeches on the occasion of the 93rd anniversary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic on Thursday in the U.S. House of Representatives.
As the Azerbaijani Embassy in the United States said, Shuster stressed that Azerbaijan is the first country which provided an opportunity for the U.S. companies to develop energy resources of the Caspian Sea and has become a key player in global energy security.
"Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline is the most successful project that contributes to the development of the South Caucasus region," Shuster said.
"It has become the main artery of supply of hydrocarbons of the Caspian Sea to the United States and our partners in Europe. Azerbaijan is considered a leading potential supplier of natural gas for the Nabucco pipeline, which is supported by United States," he added.
In her speech, Virginia Foxx said that Azerbaijan, located in a strategic region between Russia and Iran, as well as between Europe and Asia, is a stable and secular state, and one of the few places in this part of world where Muslims, Jews and Christians live together peacefully.
Over the past 20 years, Azerbaijan has made tremendous progress and become a key U.S. ally in this strategically important region, she said.
"The U.S.-Azerbaijani partnership is based on shared values and common goals, and is a key component of regional security," Foxx said. "As the Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said during a recent visit to Baku, Azerbaijan provides multifaceted support for U.S. and NATO operations in Afghanistan, and is the main link of the Northern Distribution Network, ensuring transit of about 25 percent of land and sea cargo to Afghanistan," she added.
Congressman Shuster is co-chairman of the Working Group on Azerbaijan of the U.S. Congress, Virginia Foxx - a member of this group.