Heydar Aliyev did not protest Artsakh being party to OSCE talks, unclassified 1997 US document shows

Former President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev did not protest Artsakh being one of the three parties to the OSCE talks on the NK conflict settlement, a US Department of State unclassified “Memorandum of Conversation” obtained by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) shows.

The document is a partly redacted minutes of a 1997 Oval Office meeting between US President Bill Clinton and Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev in Washington D.C.

“This CONFIDENTIAL White House “Memorandum of Conversation,” about the August 1, 1997 Oval Office meeting between Azerbaijan’s President Heydar Aliyev and US President Bill Clinton, is revealing on many fronts, including the elder Aliyev’s clumsy attempt at Soviet-style flattery”, the ANCA tweeted together with a copy of the document.

“Most telling: At no point did Aliyev protest Artsakh being one of the 3 parties to the OSCE talks, stating in a matter-of-fact manner: “As for direct talks, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Nagorno-Karabakh are represented in the Minsk Group process. We will continue this…””

“We trust you more than anyone and we believe the United States can play a most important role”, Aliyev told Clinton.

In turn, Clinton told Aliyev that the US takes its role as co-chair very seriously.