USAN PRESS RELEASE
October 3, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: contact[AT]usazeris.org

The following statement was adopted via voting by the leaders of the Azerbaijani-American Diaspora at the U.S. Azeris Network (USAN) annual high-level conference at the George Washington University in Washington D.C. on October 1-2, 2008. The U.S. Azeris Network (USAN) (www.USAzeris.org <http://www.usazeris.org/> ), is a registered non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian genuine grassroots advocacy and voter education network that is facilitating political activism and efforts by the Azerbaijani-Americans and other Turkic-Americans and their associations, organizations, councils, conferences, and other formal, semi-formal and informal groups, on federal, state and local levels. USAN is the first nationwide grassroots organization uniting Azerbaijani-Americans, being created by the grassroots, for the grassroots.

USAN PR#2-10-2008

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October 2, 2008
Washington, D.C.

Statement by the Azerbaijani American Diaspora

As the members of the Azerbaijani-American Community committed to peace, prosperity, harmony and sharing of the same democratic values in the development and strengthening of bilateral relations between the United States and Azerbaijan, we note with great satisfaction that all the members of the Azerbaijani-American Diaspora are able to freely express opinions and ideas, and come to a unified position;

In light of this, we recognize the need to set our agenda for the next year and the years to come in order to be able to work more effectively with the next U.S. Administration and Congress, thus creating better understanding of the aspirations of Azeri Americans by the U.S. executive and legislative branches. One of the key aspirations is the liberation of all occupied Azerbaijani lands through the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. We believe that one of our most important objectives is to educate the American policy- and lawmakers to assist in enhancement of the bilateral ties between Azerbaijan and the United States;

We support the long term strategic allied relations between the United States and Azerbaijan and we fully encourage the development of
bilateral cooperation between the United States and Azerbaijan in a variety of areas ranging from energy security to trade and investment,
cultural and educational exchanges, humanitarian and charitable links, social and political relations. We also encourage U.S.-assisted modernization efforts undertaken in Azerbaijan, and more extensive targeted technical aid;

We support the unity of Azerbaijani-American organizations towards a common goal of furthering the influence of ethnic Azerbaijanis and
other Turkic peoples in the U.S. public and political life.

This statement was approved by the overwhelming majority voice and hand vote on the second day of October, year two thousand and eight,
in the capital of the United States of America, the City of Washington, District of Columbia.