US Assistant Secretary of State O'Brien to visit Baku in December

Baku/11/28.23/Turan: The latest statements and steps of the United States towards Azerbaijan cause serious damage to bilateral relations. This was stated by President Ilham Aliyev on November 27 in a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

According to the Presidential press service, Aliyev emphasized biased statements against Azerbaijan by US Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien that do not reflect reality during hearings in the House of Representatives of the Congress on Foreign Affairs.

"Azerbaijan rejects O'Brien's statements," Aliyev said. Baku took note of the statement of the Assistant Secretary of State that the United States is canceling high-level bilateral meetings and contacts with Azerbaijan and that relations between the two countries "cannot be the same as before," Aliyev stressed. He recalled that on November 16, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that Baku also cancels high-level visits from the United States.

According to the press service of the head of state, Blinken said that in order to normalize relations, he "asks" to receive O'Brien in Baku in December. Aliyev agreed, but on condition that the "unjustified ban" on visits to the United States by high-ranking representatives of Azerbaijan should be lifted. This condition was accepted by Blinken.

The President also noted that Armenia responded to the text of the peace treaty proposed by Azerbaijan on September 11, 2023, only on November 21. Thus, the response was delayed by 70 days. This, according to Aliyev, is evidence that Armenia uses the procedure of agreeing on a peace treaty to delay negotiations. During the telephone conversation, the sides also exchanged views on the upcoming meeting of the commission on the delimitation of the state border on November 30 at the Azerbaijani-Armenian border. –06B-