Azerbaijan, Baku, December 16 / Trend , M.Aliyev/
The department head of Azerbaijani Presidential Administration regrets that some media outlets describe as anti-American campaign the protests of Azerbaijani people, Parliament, Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh against the decision of the U.S. to provide financial assistance to the separatists of Nagorno-Karabakh.
"Azerbaijan does not conduct anti-American campaign," the head of the public-political department of Azerbaijan Presidential Administration Ali Hasanov briefed the media on Dec. 16.
Hasanov said that Azerbaijan is the strategic ally of the U.S., adheres to this alliance relations and will continue this policy.
"Of course, we do not oppose against providing aid to the population of Nagorno-Karabakh who need help, but this population is the Azerbaijani community. They have been evicted from their homelands, were forced to live in tent camps for long years. And we demand that the U.S. community takes this into consideration. Willingly or unwillingly, this assistance strengthens ethnic separatism in Nagorno-Karabakh, adversely affects the solution of the conflict. Proceeding from the disagreement of the population, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Presidential Administration, Parliament makes appeals to the U.S. Government," Hasanov said.
Hasanov said that the U.S. is a country pursuing worldwide policy and its decisions can not be based on occasional proposals of the congressmen.
On Dec. 8, a joint conference between the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives adopted a bill on U.S. 2010 budget.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.
The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenian has not yet implemented the U.N. General Assembly's resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.
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