President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Eric Rubin.
Eric Rubin expressed pleasure with his visit to Azerbaijan.
The U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary said he arrived in the country on the instructions of the U.S. President and Secretary of State.
He congratulated the Head of State on election of Azerbaijan as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and victory of the country in the Eurovision song contest.
Eric Rubin expressed hope bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and U.S. would continue to expand even more on the existing basis in 2012.
President Ilham Aliyev said the last year was important for Azerbaijan, adding the country celebrated the 20th anniversary of its independence.
The Azerbaijani leader expressed hope the two countries would gain ground in expanding relations in the bilateral format in 2012.
The Head of State thanked the U.S. President and Secretary of State for their attention to development of relations between the two countries.
During the meeting, they discussed development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and U.S. in various fields in 2012.

AzerTAc