Answers of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev to the reporters in front of the White House after meeting with the US President George Bush - Washington DC, 9 April 2001


Question: Mr. President, how was your meeting with George Bush?

Answer: meeting was held very well. First, we exchanged views on the issues regarding the Azerbaijani-US bilateral relations. We reconfirmed that our relations are based on strategic partnership, and our cooperation will continue this way. We discussed the development of the energy resources of the Caspian and also touched upon the unfair Section 907 of Congress which obstacles the US aid to Azerbaijan which is provided to all the former Soviet republics which are now independent. We had a wide exchange of views on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which is our main problem. As a co-chair of the Minsk Group of OSCE, the United States is responsible for the peaceful settlement of the conflict. We hope for strengthening the activity of the United States of America in this direction, as well as other co-chairs.

Question: Mr. President, to what extend did Azerbaijan and Armenia become closer to the peace after the talks in Key West and your meeting with George Bush?

Answer: I cannot say it exactly.