Elin Suleymanov, Ambassador of Republic of Azerbaijan to the United States, told that Baku is willing to start up a dialogue with Erevan. He stated that US has a very important role in this issue. “US should appoint an official who would be dealing with this problem. Up until now there was not a full-time intermediary to work on this bilateral issue,” said Mr. Suleymanov.
Mr. Suleymanov attended Turkic American Convention, which was organized by Turkic American Alliance (TAA), Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSCON), and Rethink Institute. During the Azerbaijan session related to the Energy, Trade, and Development forum, Mr. Suleymanov stated that Baku wants to restore Azeri-Armenian relations. They want to open their sealed Azeri-Armenian borders, just like opening Turkish-Armenian borders. Mr. Suleymanov mentioned that the decisions of opening Turkish-Armenian border before the dispute of Nagorno-Karabakh broke out and sealing it back again right after the first attacks in that region were solely and independently initiated by official Ankara. “Turkey is pretty big and powerful enough country to dictate its own policies and no one can impose or force any ideas or decisions on them,” added Mr. Suleymanov.
Azerbaijan session was full of insightful presentations from the participants and was moderated by Joshua Walker, International Affairs Fellow Council on Foreign Relations. Among the speakers were Samad Seyidov, chair of the Azerbaijani delegation to Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Ted Poe, US Representative from Texas, Eric Rubin, Deputy Assistant Secretary Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, David Merkel, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Director, and Michael McMahon, former US Representative from New York.
Mr. Poe said that Azerbaijan is a big friend of US, but moreover, he emphasized the help that Azerbaijani government offered for American soldiers who were returning home through Baku. He also added that Azerbaijan is a strategic partner of the US in that region.
While Mr. Rubin highlighted the importance of Azerbaijan as a very productive ally to promote global and regional security, Mr. Merkel emphasized strategic partnership between the US and Azerbaijan in terms of common efforts against global terrorism and regional stability.
