SENIOR AZERI OFFICIAL UPBEAT ON FUTURE TIES WITH USA

Day.Az
Jan 19 2009
Azerbaijan

A senior Azerbaijani official has dismissed having any concern over the
reportedly "too strong pro-Armenian bias" of the new US administration.

In an interview with the private Day.az website, the head of the
public and political department of the Azerbaijani presidential
administration, Ali Hasanov, said: "I do not think there are grounds
for harbouring fears about the Barack Obama administration… The
interests of the American people demand that there be good relations
between the USA and Azerbaijan."

Hasanov added that "Azerbaijan is an important state for the USA in
the South Caucasus region and that in the past Azerbaijan has been
subjected to strong pressure from other countries because of the
strengthening of the USA in our region".

Hasanov believes that the US administration should take this into
account. The official added that the two countries needed each other
and that no amount of effort by the Armenian lobby would reduce
Azerbaijan’s importance to the USA.