BAKU. March 12 (Interfax) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accepted diplomatic credentials from the new U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan, Earle (Lee) Litzenberger, on Tuesday, and the two discussed ways of settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and praised the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs' stance on the negotiating format, the presidential website said in a statement.
"Ilham Aliyev has informed Litzenberger of Azerbaijan's position, which is based on international law norms and principles and a fair conflict settlement. The head of state noted that Azerbaijan has taken the latter statement by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs positively, including their position regarding the format of the negotiating process," it said.
Litzenberger said the U.S. government highly values Azerbaijan's contribution to the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan, including through logistics and transport support.
Aliyev and Litzenberger praised a high level and successful development of Azerbaijani-U.S. relations and exchanged opinions on their future, the statement said.
"The parties to the meeting discussed aspects of political ties, energy security, trade and democratic development, and highlighted the importance of the development of relations," it said.