US senator: ‘Flare of Karabakh conflict again could cover all the region’

“Azerbaijan increases its role in the exploration, exploitation and transportation of the energy resources to the world market”, said Chairwoman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee Ileana Ros- Lehtinen.

The committee chairwoman welcomed the diversification of the energy transportation infrastructure by Azerbaijan and said BTC main export pipeline has turned into the main transportation route which supplies the world with fuel. “It enables the country to diversify the energy sources and gives an opportunity to our allies to avoid some dependence. The new routes such as Nabucco will increase the strategic importance of Azerbaijan”.

Urging for extension of economic and trade relations between the countries, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said the third meeting in Washington within the framework of the US-Azerbaijan partnership brought new initiatives to civil aviation.

Characterizing Baku as a key partner of the US in the prevention of force and extremism, the committee chairwoman said Azerbaijani security forces conducted operation for detention of illegal armed groups in April. “This event showed that all lovers of liberty in the world are targeted by the extremism. If we want to protect the peoples, we have to be vigilant. The US and Azerbaijan are closely working for the prevention of possible terrorist plans and proliferation of the conventional, biological and nuclear weapons. We are satisfied especially with the exercises conducted for the security of the Caspian Sea”.

The committee chairwoman said that they were concerned about the recent developments in Nagorno Karabakh and border regions. “Two Azerbaijani soldiers were killed tragically in the shooting. The use of force prevents the settlement of the conflict. Flare of the conflict again could cover all the region and cause heavy losses. This region saw enough tragedies. No one has benefited from the current status quo”.


/APA/