![US hopes on progress in the field of democracy in Azerbaijan](https://turan.az/resized/media/2016/main/070200160908-750-500-resize.webp)
US hopes on progress in the field of democracy in Azerbaijan
The US intends to continue to develop relations with Azerbaijan as a strong, independent, democratic state, stated the US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Robert Cekuta at the event dedicated to the 240th anniversary of US Independence Day. The Ambassador noted that the US supported Azerbaijan in 1991, when the republic declared independence. During the years of independence, the relations between the two countries have developed actively, and Azerbaijan and the US cooperated in peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Iraq.
Since 1993, the US has provided to Azerbaijan $1.3 billion aid, including humanitarian.
Cekuta called the visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to the USA in March this year a contribution to the development of relations between the two countries. Speaking at the ceremony, on behalf of the Government, Minister of Finance Samir Sharifov said that Baku and Washington are developing relations in the economy, security and the fight against terrorism.
He also expressed hope that the US, as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, is stepping up efforts to resolve the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.
Commenting on journalists human rights situation in Azerbaijan, the Ambassador noted "progress" in this area in recent months. "We hope that Azerbaijan will continue to move in this direction," the ambassador said. He stressed that the United States is cooperating with Azerbaijan in a number of areas, including in three main areas: security, economic cooperation and human rights.-06D--
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- 2 July 2016 14:03
Politics
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Armenia is not against the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group, but does not consider it appropriate to discuss this issue now. "In the context of peace, we consider it possible to make a decision on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group. When peace is an established fact, the existence of such a format may raise questions," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a press conference today. "The whole question is about the timing, we need to understand how effectively and correctly to turn such topics into a subject of discussion right now," the Armenian Prime Minister added.
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He expressed his willingness to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the border between the two countries. "A meeting with Ilham Aliyev could take place at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. I am open to such a format," Pashinyan said at a press conference today. According to Pashinyan, Armenia recently presented another proposal for a peace treaty to Azerbaijan.
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On August 31, Azerbaijan observes a "day of silence" before the Sunday’s early parliamentary elections for the unicameral Milli Majlis. All electoral campaigning is prohibited 24 hours before the voting. The early elections were initiated by the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party. This decision was motivated by the overlap of the scheduled elections in November with the global UN forum - the COP20 climate conference taking place in Baku.
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On August 30, at approximately 22:55, the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant in Metsamor was disconnected from the country's power grid, as reported by the Armenian Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure. The shutdown was caused by a lightning strike, which triggered the plant's safety systems to switch the station to a safe shutdown mode. Currently, the plant's staff is working on restarting the facility.
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