Hikmet Hajiyev speaks at Atlantic Council in Washington

The Atlantic Council, an influential think tank operating in Washington, DC, USA, hosted an event dedicated to Azerbaijanchr("39")s foreign policy.

During the event, US Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent gave a speech on US-Azerbaijani relations. Afterwards, a conversation took place between Hikmet Hajiyev, Head of the Department of Foreign Policy Affairs of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration, and Richard Morningstar, founding chairman of the Global Energy Center, board director at the Atlantic Council and former US ambassador to Azerbaijan.

The event was attended by representatives of diplomatic corps accredited in Washington, DC and analysts conducting research on the region. As the event was also open to the public, a large number of Armenian lobbyists were also present at the event.

In his speech, the Deputy Assistant Secretary talked about the strategic importance of Azerbaijan-US relations. Noting the importance of the South Caucasus region, he described Azerbaijan as an important partner and touched on the successful cooperation in security, energy and economic development in the two countries.

Kent emphasized the recent visits and dialogue between the two states as an indication of the development of relations. He expressed gratitude on behalf of the US government for Azerbaijanchr("39")s support for the NATO-led peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan. He also noted that the US supports the peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and that the country remains committed to the mediation efforts within the OSCE Minsk Group, stressing that the soonest settlement of the conflict would provide for peace and prosperity in the region.