First Regular Session
               Seventieth General Assembly
                    STATE OF COLORADO
                                                 INTRODUCED
 
 LLS NO. R15-0794.01 Ashley Zimmerman x2291       SJR15-006
                   SENATE SPONSORSHIP
 Crowder and Woods, 
 
                    HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
 Vigil, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Senate Committees
 House Committees
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                  SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 15-006 
       Concerning recognition and support for the strategic
            partnership between the United States of America and
            the Republic of Azerbaijan.
       
       
            WHEREAS, The Republic of Azerbaijan is a staunch ally and
       partner of the United States in a strategically important South Caucasus
       region bordering Iran, Russia, and Central Asia; and
       
            WHEREAS, The Republic of Azerbaijan restored its independence
       in October 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union; and
       
            WHEREAS, The United States was one of the first countries to
       recognize the independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 1991 and
       establish full-fledged diplomatic relations with it in 1992; and
       
            WHEREAS, The United States, along with the United Nations,
       recognizes and supports Azerbaijan's sovereignty and territorial integrity
       with an area of close to 33,440 square miles, which also includes the
       Karabakh and Nakhchivan regions; and
       
            WHEREAS, Since independence, the Republic of Azerbaijan has
       consolidated its sovereignty and independence and has become one of the
       most rapidly developing countries in the world and the biggest United
       States trade partner in the South Caucasus; and
       
            WHEREAS, Over the past two decades, the Unites States of
       America and the Republic of Azerbaijan have expanded their partnership
       and developed multi-faceted cooperation on a variety of issues including
       energy security, the fight against international terrorism, drug and human
       trafficking, and nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction; and
       
            WHEREAS, The Republic of Azerbaijan was one of the first
       countries to render unconditional assistance to the United States after the
       terror attacks of September 11, 2001, opening its airspace and airports for
       use by coalition troops in Afghanistan and sending its soldiers to serve
       there shoulder-to-shoulder with United States troops; and
       
            WHEREAS, For more than 13 years, Azerbaijan has provided a
       vital transportation route for around 40% of all supplies for American and
       other North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops in Afghanistan; and
       
            WHEREAS, United States Secretary of State John Kerry stated on
       June 3, 2013, that "Azerbaijan has been an important partner in
       Afghanistan, in ISAF, and equally important with respect to the northern
       distribution route but also the southern gas line and other issues that are
       of great importance to us."; and
       
            WHEREAS, Possessing vast oil and gas resources, Azerbaijan
       contributes to the energy security of the United States and its European
       allies, and is a critical element of the "Southern Corridor", which will
       further enhance diversification of energy supplies to our European allies;
       and
       
            WHEREAS, Azerbaijan has a long-standing tradition of peaceful
       co-existence between various ethnic and religious communities and is one
       of the few secular countries in the Middle East with a predominately
       Muslim population that maintains close, friendly ties with the State of
       Israel; and
       
            WHEREAS, Azerbaijan, represented by its Consulate General,
       attaches great importance to expanding its relations in all spheres,
       including trade, cultural, and educational exchange with the State of
       Colorado; and
       
            WHEREAS, It is critical for the United States of America to
       further strengthen the relations with its allies, such as Azerbaijan, to
       advance our common interests, presently and in the future; now,
       therefore,
       
            Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Seventieth General Assembly
       of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein:
       
            The we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly, do
       hereby recognize and support the strategic partnership and friendship
       between the United States of America and the Republic of Azerbaijan,
       and trust that our relations must be further enhanced through mutual
       efforts over the years to come.
       
            Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent
       to President of the United States Barack Obama; Secretary of State of the
       United States John Kerry; United States Ambassador to the Republic of
       Azerbaijan Richard Morningstar; President Pro Tempore of the United
       States Senate Orrin Hatch; Speaker of the United States House of
       Representatives John Boehner; and Colorado's Congressional delegation.