American Diplomat: USA Hopes for Prompt Re-Establishment of Negotiations with Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Trend A.Ismaylova / Press Secretary to the US Embassy in Azerbaijan, Jonathan Henick, said on 23 April that the USA hopes for prompt re-establishment of negotiations with Azerbaijan regarding security. He stressed that cooperation with Azerbaijan with regards to security is one of the priorities of US policy. Henick said that at present the Governments of Azerbaijan and the United Stated are continuing negotiations regarding changes made to the provisions on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh conflict in the initial 2006 State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The American diplomat said that the position of the USA on the Nagorno-Karabakh remains unchanged and occupied territories, including the Nagorno-Karabakh, are recognized as territories belonging to Azerbaijan.

Taking into consideration the changes to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh conflict in the initial 2006 State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the Azerbaijani Government postponed a visit of the Azerbaijani delegation to Washington for bilateral security talks, scheduled for April 23-24. The delegation was to include high level officials from the Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Emergencies, Ministry of National Security, Interior Ministry, Border Service, Customs Committee and Special Protection Service.