BAKU. June 28 (Interfax) - The talks in Baku were focused largely on the situation in the South Caucasus and emerging opportunities, United States Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien said.
The U.S. and Azerbaijan have established a strong and effective partnership in many areas, O'Brien said. Most of today's discussions in Baku focused on the regional situation. This was discussed in particular, among other issues, at his meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the U.S. diplomat told journalists in Baku on Friday.
Azerbaijan has played a central role in changing regional politics, he said.
This has led to the establishment of peace and is a way to resolve the decades-long dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and a chance to build peaceful relations in the future for the benefit of the region as a whole, O'Brien said.
Not only will cooperation among the region's countries improve the security situation, it will also enable the transit of goods from Central Asia through Azerbaijan and subsequently Georgia and Armenia to world markets, he said.