US Vice President James David Vance arrived in Baku from Yerevan today. Following an official reception ceremony and a one-on-one meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, they held expanded intergovernmental talks.

The main outcome of the meeting was the signing of the Charter on Strategic Partnership between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the United States of America by Aliyev and Vance. Key points of the document include mutual recognition of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the two countries, the development of the Middle Corridor, and support for the TRIPP project. The agreement elevates bilateral relations to a new level and solidifies priority areas of cooperation, including energy, trade, technology, digital infrastructure, defense, and security. Aliyev noted that "Azerbaijan is honored to be a strategic partner of the United States."

Touching on energy cooperation, the Azerbaijani president emphasized that his country currently "contributes, through its natural gas resources, to the energy security of 16 countries, 11 of which are NATO members and US allies."

The US Vice President, in turn, emphasized that the leaders of the US, Azerbaijan, and Armenia "have created a historic peace" that will lead to "prosperity."

According to Vance, the "Partnership and Friendship" between the US and Azerbaijan "has long been underappreciated, yet is extremely important to the United States of America." He informed Aliyev that the US plans to "send several new boats to Azerbaijan to assist you in protecting your territorial waters."

The distinguished guest also offered personal compliments to his host.

"I told my staff before landing that, besides President Trump, the only leader in the world who has truly good relations with both the Turks and the Israelis is President Aliyev. "This means, firstly, that the food here must be really delicious. Secondly, he must be a very charming person. I can confirm that he is very charming," Vance shared.

The topic of political prisoners and the persecution of opponents of the government in Azerbaijan, which human rights activists had urged the US Vice President to address during talks in Baku even before his visit, was not raised. Clearly, such issues are of no concern to the Trump administration.

As a reminder, Vance visited Armenia the day before, where he signed a civil nuclear energy cooperation agreement, providing for a potential US investment of $9 billion. According to Bloomberg, this will allow American companies to participate in the construction of a new nuclear power plant to replace the Metsamor nuclear power plant, which is maintained by Rosatom, and will thus help reduce Yerevan's dependence on Russia.