Azerbaijani deputy FM discuss bilateral ties, regional issues with US officials PHOTO

Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Elnur Mammadov held several bilateral meetings with US politicians as part of his working visit to the country on May 17-24.

Mammadov met with members of the US House of Representatives Chuck Edwards, Pete Sessions, Don Bacon, Madeleine Dean, Adam Smith, Paul Gosar and Beth Van Duyne during his working visit to the United States.

The meetings discussed bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and the US and regional processes, Caliber.Az reports.

The members of Congress were informed of the reconstruction and construction work carried out by Azerbaijan in the territories liberated from occupation, and the continuing danger of mines, which is a serious obstacle to the return of internally displaced persons to their land.

It was stressed at the meetings that distorted and unsubstantiated information on Azerbaijan presented to members of Congress by radical Armenian organizations operating in the United States, unilateral resolutions in this context that do not serve the national interests of the United States, harm the relations between the two countries, as well as the ongoing peace negotiations.

During the visit, the Azerbaijani delegation held meetings at the US Department of State and the US Department of Defense. At the State Department, the Azerbaijani delegation met with First Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Stanley Brown, Deputy Assistant for European and Eurasian Affairs Erica Olson and Deputy Assistant for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Kara McDonald.

At the meetings, views were exchanged on the current state and development prospects of Azerbaijani-American relations, on regional security issues, the de-mining of areas liberated from occupation, and cooperation between the two countries in military-political, humanitarian and other spheres.

The delegation met with Laura Cooper, deputy assistant secretary of defence for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia. They discussed defence issues, military training and exercises between the two countries as well as prospects for cooperation between the Oklahoma National Guard and our country's military.

They expressed satisfaction with the existing cooperation between Azerbaijan and the United States in the defence sphere, including the fight against regional and global terrorism.

During the visit, the delegation held a meeting at the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

The sides exchanged views on cooperation between Azerbaijan and the United States in the energy sphere, including our country's contribution to European energy security, the processes taking place in the region in the post-conflict period, talks on the normalization of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations and various aspects of Azerbaijani-Israeli strategic partnership.

The delegation's visit ended on May 24.