Consulate General of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles

News from the Heart of the Silk Road

June 29, 2010 – Los Angeles, California

Regional Developments Round-up

The U.S. State Department announced that Secretary Hillary Clinton will be visiting Azerbaijan on July 4 while on her first regional tour. Secretary Clinton’s trip follows the June 6-7 visit by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to Azerbaijan. Secretary Gates met with President Ilham Aliyev and Defense Minister Safar Abiyev to discuss US-Azerbaijan security cooperation and Azerbaijan’s increasing role in the NATO-led operation in Afghanistan. Mr. Gates also delivered a letter from President Barack Obama to President Aliyev. In the letter, Mr. Obama expressed appreciation for Azerbaijan’s important role in regional security and global energy diversity and also pledged to expand the bilateral dialogue. He also stressed the special role of the late President Heydar Aliyev in establishing the US-Azerbaijan strategic partnership.

On June 26, at the G8 summit in Toronto, Canada, the presidents of France, Russia and the United States (Nicolas Sarkozy, Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama, respectively) issued a joint statement calling for a peaceful resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. In particular, the statement called for the withdrawal of Armenian forces from Azerbaijan’s occupied territories, return of the displaced communities and security guarantees. The statement was welcomed in Azerbaijan.

Earlier this month, President Aliyev met with his Armenian counterpart Serj Sarkisian for another round of talks in St. Petersburg, Russia, while another cease-fire violation by the Armenian forces resulted in an unfortunate incident causing at least 5 deaths.

Republic Day Marked in Los Angeles

On May 27, the Consulate General hosted a reception celebrating the 92nd anniversary since the establishment of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the first democratic republic with a majority Muslim population in the world. The significance of this historic milestone was highlighted in the remarks and greetings extended by State and local officials.

Consul General Elin Suleymanov presented appreciation awards to the LA City Chief of Protocol Elga Sharpe, LA Consular Corps volunteer Wendy Wagner and Jewish community leaders Dr. Robert Meth and Mr. Michael Tuchin. Special gratitude was expressed to Ms. Shafag Mehraliyeva for promoting the US-Azerbaijan friendship, as well as to Consul Elman Abdullayev and Vice-Consul Elshan Baloghlanov, who are completing their diplomatic tour, for their invaluable contribution to establishing Azerbaijan’s first diplomatic mission on the West Coast.

In other news:

*The Islamic Development Bank held its 35^th annual meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, on June 23-24. The Bank’s Board of Governors praised Azerbaijan’s prudent economic policies and signed a number of significant agreements in Baku.

*Earlier this month, Azerbaijan and Turkey reached an agreement of the terms on deliveries for Azerbaijani natural gas. In related news, Azerbaijan extended a short-term $200 mln credit to Belarus to cover its debts for Russian natural gas, while the Russia’s GAZPROM expressed interest in buying BP’s share in the major Caspian offshore gas field.

The Azerbaijani Perspective is compiled from various news sources and is edited by

the Consulate General of Azerbaijan, 11766 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1410 Los Angeles, CA 90025

tel: (310) 444-9101; fax: (310) 477-4860; email: office@azconsulatela.org www.azconsulatela.org

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