BAKU. May 15 (Interfax-Azerbaijan) - The date for sending Azerbaijani peacekeepers to Iraq has been pushed back because some organizational issues have not been resolved yet, primarily on the U.S. side, U.S. Ambassador to Baku Ross Wilson told reporters on Thursday.
The Azerbaijani contingent will go to Iraq two weeks later, in late May, Wilson said. The U.S. government is currently conducting negotiations with Azerbaijan on this matter, he said.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said earlier that the 150 Azerbaijani peacekeepers would leave for Iraq on May 12.
The U.S. ambassador also said that Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev will visit the U.S. next week to meet Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.
In addition, Abiyev is scheduled to visit Oklahoma, where the U.S. National Guard, together with which Azerbaijan is working, is headquartered.
Wilson also said he has no precise agenda for the negotiations. However, it is clear that this visit will promote the development of military cooperation between the U.S. and Azerbaijan, he said.