“We should remember that then-President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev was one of the first to contact the U.S. and express sympathy for what happened. And that's something that was generally appreciated, and I think should still be remembered,” said Former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Robert Cekuta as he commented on the anniversary of September 11, 2001 terror attacks and the U.S.-Azerbaijan relations after these attacks.

“Also, I think we need to remember how Azerbaijan worked with the United States in combating terrorism. You know, on the ground with us, Azerbaijani troops on the ground with NATO in Afghanistan, for example. And I think, again, that the Azerbaijani troops were among the last to leave Afghanistan with the United States at the airport,” he noted.

“I think that even though terrorism might not be in the headlines as much as it was years ago, it's still a problem. And we still need to be working together. The United States and Azerbaijan still needs to be cooperating to fight terrorism. And this is something that was really important for both Azerbaijanis and Americans,” Robert Cekuta added.

Malahat Najafova

Special correspondent