American diplomat: US, Azerbaijan have shared interests

The U.S. and Azerbaijanhave shared interests in building regional security, diversifying energysupplies, pursuing democratic and economic reforms, combating terrorism andstemming the flow of illegal narcotics and weapons of mass destruction, said EricRubin, deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of European and EurasianAffairs of the U.S. State Department.

"We expect suchcooperation to continue, and we look forward to opportunities to enhance therelationship between our two countries," he said in an interview withAzerbaijan’s Trend news agency.

Rubin said Azerbaijancontinues to play a leading role in the diversification of energy routes toEuropean markets.

"The Southern GasCorridor will bring a new source of gas supply to Europe, a goal the UnitedStates strongly supports. And the selection of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline(TAP) is another important step in the process of advancing Europe's energysecurity and promoting competition in the supply of energy resources," hesaid.

According to the U.S. official,by bringing Caspian gas to international markets, this initiative willcontribute to meeting global energy demand, which is critical to sustainingeconomic growth.

As a co-chair of the OSCEMinsk Group, the United States remains firmly committed to achieving apeaceful, negotiated settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict based upon thecore principles of the Helsinki Final Act, particularly the non-use or threatof force, territorial integrity of states, and equal rights andself-determination of peoples, Rubin said.

He said that represented byAmbassador James Warlick, the United States believes there is a real prospectfor peace and looks forward to working with the parties at the summit thismonth.

"Any durable solutionwill require compromise from all sides. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan must findthe political will to make the difficult decisions that a peaceful settlementrequires," Rubin said.

According to Rubin, the U.S. assesses Azerbaijan's contribution to the ISAFmission in Afghanistan very positively.

"Azerbaijan has 94troops in Afghanistan and is a key partner in facilitating both air and surfaceresupply of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. It gives blanket permission for U.S.military overflights of its territory and serves as a key node on the NorthernDistribution Network (NDN), allowing thousands of shipments non-lethal goodsand flights to transit Azerbaijan each year to resupply coalition troops inAfghanistan," Rubin said.

ANN.Az