Elin Suleymanov: Azerbaijan 'long friendly to Washington'

US Tribune Review has published an interview with Azerbaijani ambassador to US Elin Suleymanov.

Quoting Suleymanov, author Salena Zito writes that Azerbaijan has battled Armenia over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988.

"The United States should have a clear, consistent, forceful condemning of any degree of separatism, extremism, and reject any change of borders by force in the international community,” Suleymanov said.

He said diplomacy is like a personal relationship, and Azerbaijan — long friendly to Washington —counts on American support to restore stability across the region.

"An entire generation has been in exile,” he said — about 600,000 people displaced, according to Amnesty International and the United Nations Refugee Agency.

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In his interview, the ambassador said that Azerbaijan spends its money wisely. "We invest in our neighbors, and we could have invested in Armenia and become a partner with them in the region. Instead, Armenia is an isolated country, which does not have independence as much as our people.”