DM MEETS US EX-AMBASSADOR

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
April 17 2006

Defense Minister, Colonel-General Safar Abiyev on April 17 met Reno
Harnish, the U.S. Ambassador who has finished his diplomatic mission
in Azerbaijan. He mentioned there was a substantial progress in
development of Azerbaijan-US bilateral cooperation, including the
military one, during the diplomat’s tenure.

Touching on the process of settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, Colonel-General Safar Abiyev
pointed out that the United States increase its efforts towards its
resolution on the base of the international legal norms and principle
of territorial integrity. “I believe the visit to the region by US
co-Chair Steven Mann will have its positive impact on the issue,”
he said.

Mr. Harnish said, for his part, that the US-Azerbaijan cooperation is
on a level of strategic partnership, and the upcoming official visit
by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Washington will foster the
existing relationship between the two countries.

The Defense Minister and ex-Ambassador also exchanged views on a n
umber of other issues of mutual interest.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress