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Secretary Of State Kerry Comments About Azerbaijani Foreign Minister

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  • Secretary Of State Kerry Comments About Azerbaijani Foreign Minister

    SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY COMMENTS ABOUT AZERBAIJANI FOREIGN MINISTER ELMAR MAMMADYAROV BEFORE THEIR MEETING

    US Fed News
    June 3, 2013 Monday 12:22 PM EST

    WASHINGTON, June 3 -- The U.S. Department of State issued the following
    transcript of remarks by the U.S. Secretary of State:

    SECRETARY KERRY: Good afternoon, everybody. I am very, very happy
    to welcome Foreign Minister Mammadyarov from Azerbaijan and very,
    very pleased to spend some time with him today. I've had occasion
    to talk to President Aliyev several times in the last months and
    we've talked about a number of different issues. But Azerbaijan -
    we were just talking together - is a wonderful statement about the
    ability of different religions, different sects to come together and
    live together and to find a way forward. And the Foreign Minister
    just spoke to the American Jewish Committee here in Washington and
    received a standing ovation when he talked about the commitment to
    fighting anti-Semitism and a commitment to diversity and pluralism.

    So we're particularly grateful to welcome the Foreign Minister here.

    Azerbaijan has been an important partner in Afghanistan, in ISAF,
    and equally important with respect to the northern distribution route
    but also the southern gas line and other issues that are of great
    importance to us.

    We've also talked - I've had occasion to talk with the President
    about Nagorno-Karabakh. And this is a frozen conflict, as we call
    it, one that threatens the stability of the region and one that we
    need to deal with. As co-chair of the Minsk Group, we have a serious
    interest - the United States - in helping Azerbaijan and Armenia to
    be able to find a path forward. The last thing we want is a return
    to war and to conflict. I believe there is a path forward, and we
    will continue to work quietly and patiently in an effort to try to
    encourage the parties to be able to take either confidence-building
    measures that may get to further down the road or to find a way towards
    a settlement with respect to this issue. Both have been close before,
    and at the last minute things have happened that have denied everybody
    that opportunity. So we have a big interest in that.

    We also have an interest in seeing Azerbaijan continue to walk down
    this road, march down the road towards greater democracy to help build
    the pluralism of the country and ultimately to be able to find a way
    for peace and stability in the region and with its neighbors. So we
    are going to work on that and we are going to have a good discussion
    in a few moments about a number of these issues. But Mr. Foreign
    Minister, I'm glad to have you here. Thank you for your efforts and
    we appreciate the effort to try to walk down this road together.

    FOREIGN MINISTER Mammadyarov: Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary. Just
    a few words. It's very difficult to add something to what was so
    skillfully articulated by the Secretary for our discussion for our
    agenda. But one thing is extremely important: We consider Azerbaijan
    as a partner, your strategic partner, taking the consideration what
    Mr. Secretary said about the agenda of our cooperation with the United
    States and all of the issue which was indicated is definitely of the
    strategic nature.

    Of course, Azerbaijan, it's far from United States, but we still
    believe that to all these challenges which we're facing together with
    United States will successfully move forward, including on the - one
    of the biggest problem of the conflict resolution with the neighbor
    Armenia, with whom we are definitely and desperately interested to
    live in peace with dignity, always that there will be all the negative
    outcome of the conflict will be in the past, and we will look to the
    bright future of successful cooperation and living next to each other
    as a good neighborhood.

    SECRETARY KERRY: Good. Thank you, my friend.

    FOREIGN MINISTER Mammadyarov: Thank you very much.

    SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you, sir.

    QUESTION: Mr. Minister, do you have any plans to increase United
    States role in resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?

    FOREIGN MINISTER Mammadyarov: We're going to discuss this issue in
    particular on this detail.

    SECRETARY KERRY: We are working on that. We're co-chairs of the
    Minsk Group. We have thoughts about how we can proceed down that road
    carefully and thoughtfully. Thank you very much.

    FOREIGN MINISTER Mammadyarov: Thank you.

    SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you.


    From: Baghdasarian
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