As part of the Washington leg of his US visit, Sheikhulislam Allahshukur Pashazade and the delegation accompanying him held a meeting at the White House with Andrew Loomis, Special Advisor for National Security Affairs in the Office of the US Vice President, Michael Imbrenda, Special Advisor for Strategic Issues in the Vice President's Office, and Jonathan Askonas, a member of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff.

The meeting discussed issues of mutual interest, including the new opportunities created for the South Caucasus region after the peace protocol signed between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Washington on August 8, with the participation of US President Donald Trump, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the international significance of Azerbaijan's exemplary inter-sectarian and interreligious experience, the development of Azerbaijan-US interreligious cooperation, and the role of multicultural values in establishing sustainable peace.

Sheikhulislam A. Pashazade highly appreciated the suspension of the operation of the 907th amendment regarding Azerbaijan in the "Freedom Support Act" by US President Donald Trump and expressed his gratitude to the US side for this. He informed the White House representatives about his meeting with members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom at the State Department and called on the US side to remove Azerbaijan from the Special Watch List for the condition of religious freedom. He noted that the inclusion of Azerbaijan's name on such a list is not at all consistent with the multicultural environment and interreligious harmony prevailing in the country.

The attention of the US representatives was also drawn to the fact that recently the leadership of the Armenian Church and the Armenian diaspora have been taking a destructive stance, trying to hinder the peace process, and calling for new confrontation and revanchism. However, to benefit from the opportunity gained, religious and public circles should support the politicians, and the Azerbaijani side is doing so, unlike some Armenian circles, especially the Armenian Church.

The parties agreed that mutual trust and cooperation between peoples and religions are essential for achieving a sustainable and long-term peace in the world, especially between Azerbaijan and Armenia, located in a complex geopolitical region. In this regard, the US side emphasized the special importance of the Sheikhulislam's current visit. Sheikhulislam A. Pashazade stated that the Caucasus Muslims Board (CMB), which he heads, is ready to continue contributing to efforts in this direction, and to carry out international meetings and conferences on interreligious and inter-civilizational dialogue that support peace and coexistence, including joint projects with US faith-based institutions and organizations.

Ravan Hasanov, Executive Director of the Baku International Multiculturalism Centre (BIMC), and MP Javanshir Pashazade, who participated in the meeting, took the floor and spoke about the multicultural environment prevailing in our country and the role of the Azerbaijani parliament in improving state-religion relations. R. Hasanov noted that Azerbaijan is taking consistent steps in the fight against Islamophobia in the world and has already become an important international platform in this area.

The visit of the Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Board, Sheikhulislam Allahshukur Pashazade, to the United States of America continues.

Press Service of the Caucasus Muslims Board

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