Azeri official says US under secretary’s visit was not just about polls

Azad Azarbaycan TV, Baku
28 Jul 05

[Presenter] The head of the foreign relations department of the
Azerbaijani presidential administration, Novruz Mammadov, has said the
US Under Secretary of State Paula Dobriansky’s visit to Baku was not
just about the [November parliamentary] election. Issues of
cooperation in several areas between the two countries were also
discussed at a meeting with her. He noted that similar topics will be
discussed during Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov’s visit to the
USA.

[Novruz Mammadov, captioned, shown speaking to ATV] All the press said
that Dobriansky was visiting only because of the election. But in
reality, Dobriansky and the president discussed the whole spectrum of
bilateral relations, especially the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over
Nagornyy Karabakh, as well as Azerbaijan’s integration into
Euroatlantic organizations and democratic reforms. In other words,
they discussed other issues too.

It is natural, because a high-level delegation usually seeks to
develop all areas of relations, not just aiming for a single goal. The
visit of the Azerbaijani foreign minister to the USA will have similar
agenda. I repeat that the whole spectrum of bilateral relations will
be discussed during his visit to the USA.