AZERBAIJAN PUTS OFF JOINT MILITARY DRILLS WITH US
(AP)
20/04/10
BAKU, Azerbaijan – Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry says the ex-Soviet
nation has decided to postpone next month’s joint military exercise
with the United States.
Ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu refused to specify a reason for
the move late Monday, but other Azerbaijani officials have recently
expressed dismay with the U.S. stance on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a part of Azerbaijan that has been under the
control of Armenian troops and ethnic Armenian forces since a 1994
cease-fire ended six years of war.
Last week, an Azerbaijani presidential aide said the U.S. is biased
against the country in its role as a mediator of the dispute. The
remarks suggested an unprecedented strain in the energy-rich Caspian
nation’s ties with the U.S.