Azerbaijan, Baku / corr Trend E.Huseynov / An Azerbaijani delegation will visit Washington on 8 July to participate in the annual US-Azerbaijani security consultations. Araz Azimov, the Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister will lead the Azerbaijani delegation at the consolation which will be held from 9 to 10 July, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry announced. The Azerbaijani delegation will include employees of the Ministries of Defense, National Security, Emergency Situations, Interior Troops, the State Customs Committee, the State Border Service. The consultations will focus on the state in the region, issues of security, cooperation within the framework of international organizations, the NATO-Azerbaijan relations, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as activities of the Gabala Radar Station.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Henick, Head of the Public Relations of the US embassy in Baku, said on 7 July that Jhon Rood, the US Deputy Secretary of State for military and political affairs, leads the US delegation, which includes US Assistant Secretary of State, Matthew Bryza, and officials of the US Defense Ministry.
"As usual, the agenda of talks will include a full list of security issues in the bilateral relations, covering the cooperation in counteracting terrorism, military assistance, peacekeeping, individual action plan of Azerbaijan with NATO, military reforms, etc,
Earlier, Washington The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars announced that Araz Azimov, the Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister, is scheduled to deliver a report on 'The Security Agenda of Azerbaijan : Dealing with Regional Uncertainty and Energy Politics' at the Center on 11 July.
The Azerbaijan-US security consultations, originally scheduled for 23-25 April, were delayed by the Azerbaijani government. Baku protested the changes made by the US Department of State on 20 April to its Human Rights Practices Report issued on 6 March, which indicated the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven districts attached to it by Armenia.
In this respect Baku postponed the visit to Washington for security consultations, of the government delegation headed by Deputy foreign minister, Araz Asimov. However, on 25 April the US Department of State restored the report to its original version and Baku and Washington confirmed a new date for consultations.
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