Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
April 16 2005

US embassy unaware of State Secretary’s visit

The US embassy in Baku has not received any information about the
planned visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the South
Caucasus countries, US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Reno Harnish told
journalists.

Harnish noted that the visit would be useful for solving a number of
problems, including the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Co-operation
between Azerbaijan and the United States is expanding and the planned
London meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers is
expected to yield positive results, the ambassador said.

Some media outlets in Azerbaijan reported on Thursday that
Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to visit the Caucasus states early in
May.