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Executive Director of American Jewish Committee: "We consider Azerbaijan an important country for the U.S. and for the whole regional stability"

05 July 2010 [13:51] - TODAY.AZ
“The Jewish community helped the United States to appreciate the importance of Azerbaijan”, Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee David A. Harris told journalists in Baku.
“We want to educate the people about Azerbaijan and about its importance for the United States”, said Harris. He also mentioned the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Azerbaijan.

“I am delighted with being here at the same time with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She is a good friend, dear friend. Her visit here likely the visit of American Jewish Committee underscores the importance that the United States, the government and the Jewish community attach to Azerbaijan. I am happy to be here and I would like to take this opportunity to thank her personally that she just announced budget of 15 million dollars to preserve Nazi death camp in Auschwitz. I would like to take this opportunity in Baku to thank for that”.

David Harris said he visited Baku for the first time two years ago. “In the meeting with President Aliyev in Davos, Switzerland two and half years ago, he invited us to come to Baku and we came two years later. We consider Azerbaijan an important country for the United States and for the stability in the region. So we are happy to be back in the delegation to Baku”.

Speaking about the cooperation between the Jewish and Azerbaijani communities in the United States, Harris said there was close cooperation. “I think there is close cooperation between the communities. Specially one is to know that the Jewish Diaspora from Azerbaijan in the United States represented by one of the members of our delegation here has been doing important thing for Azerbaijan in the United States to help to educate America about the importance of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is not a well-known country in the United States and it needs to be well-known. The Jewish community can help and we are doing our best”.

Answering the question about the Jackson-Vanik amendment, Harris said that it was adopted 35 years ago in 1975 because of Soviet Union and because there was restriction on emigration from the Soviet Union. “There is no more Soviet Union and no more need in emigration and so we, the American Jewish Committee, are concerned that there is no reason to focus on the Jackson-Vanik amendment any longer and it is historical archaism and it shouldn’t be”.

Answering the question about the possible impact of the Turkish-Israeli relations on the relations between Azerbaijan and the American Jewish community, Harris said: “Turkey a is very important country to Israel, to the region, to the United States. It is very important that Turkey and Israel are trying to find ways for re-building the relationship. Any separation between Ankara and Jerusalem will not be good for other countries in the region”.


/APA/ 
URL: http://www.today.az/news/regions/70546.html

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