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Robert Secuta: Contacts between Azerbaijan and the United States should be more interactive

18 December 2020 00:53 (UTC +04:00)

"Contacts between Azerbaijan and the United States should be more interactive," said former US Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Head of CPC Economic and Energy Programs Robert Secuta, speaking at the webinar “Azerbaijan-US Relations: Elections and Processes after the Second Karabakh War” organized by the Center for Analysis of International Relations and the US Caspian Policy Center (Caspian Policy Center-CPC ), APA reports.

He said that the relationship between the US and Azerbaijan can be analyzed in terms of energy, economic issues, security, good governance, democracy, human rights.

"Over the past five years, there has been a certain evolution in our international relations. Evolution is associated with changes in politics, ambitions and steps towards global and regional players," said Mr. Secuta.

The former ambassador noted that Azerbaijan's geopolitical position plays an important role in the country's occupying one of the key places in the global mosaic: "The development of our ties is associated with the development of Azerbaijan itself. Azerbaijan has become a regional hub, this country plays an important role in the Eurasian region. We can say that Azerbaijan came to this on its own, this contribution belongs to it."

R. Secuta noted that another change related to international relations is associated with the Trump administration: "This administration has demonstrated different tactics. The Trump administration wanted to stay on the sidelines, even when the US needed it. The US National Security Concept identifies five main threats: Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, international terrorism - the Trump administration really did not closely address these issues."

The diplomat noted that the war in Nagorno-Karabakh requires a revision of relations between the United States and Azerbaijan: "The war in Nagorno-Karabakh has led to dramatic changes in the region. The United States could not play any role in this process. I think the new administration can make progress in all these issues. The parties should develop a strategy of cooperation with each other. Russia seeks to strengthen relations with Iran, rapprochement with Azerbaijan, peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia, etc. I think that the US can make a very valuable contribution to this.

The United States should consider Azerbaijan as the main bridge in the Eurasian region. Contacts between Azerbaijan and the United States should be more interactive."