BAKU. Aug 12 (Interfax-AVN) - Azerbaijan wants to strengthen bilateral relations with the United States in all areas, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev told U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Thursday.
"We are glad that our military cooperation is on a high level. Our cooperation is becoming stronger and I am confident that we will continue to strengthen relations in the future," Aliyev said.
"We attribute great significance to relations with the United States. Bilateral relations are developing at a very high pace," he said.
Rumsfeld thanked the Azerbaijan administration for support in the fight against terrorism. He noted the importance of bilateral cooperation in the global fight against terrorism, Azerbaijan's assistance to stabilization efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan and successful bilateral cooperation in the NATO Partnership for Peace program.
Rumsfeld told a press conference that they had discussed bilateral military cooperation in the fight against terrorism, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and containment of narcotic drugs.
He said they had also considered cooperation with the United Nations for providing security in future Iraqi elections. They also talked about Iranian President Mohammad Khatami's recent visit to Azerbaijan.
Rumsfeld said they did not discuss enlarging the Azerbaijan's peacekeeping force in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Azerbaijan Defense Minister Safar Abiyev told the press conference that security in the Caspian region was also on the agenda of the negotiations.
"Security and the indivisibility of Caspian deposits are problems for Azerbaijan, and we expect U.S. assistance in solving these questions," Abiyev said.