President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev recently received a delegation of U.S. congressmen led by Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Royce praised the successful cooperation between the two countries in areas such as energy, the fight against terrorism and Afghanistan. Aliyev also expressed satisfaction with the development of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and the United States, the Azerbaijan State Telegraph Agency reports.

Aliyev said Azerbaijan attaches great importance to expanding cooperation between the legislative bodies of the two countries. He also addressed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Armenian armed forces continue to occupy 20 percent of Azerbaijan's land, resulting in more than a million Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons. Aliyev said it is important that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Minsk Group take concrete steps towards settling the conflict within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

The two sides agreed that the delegation's visit was a good opportunity for the congressmen to familiarize themselves with Azerbaijan, as well as to define new areas for future cooperation, the Azerbaijan State Telegraph Agency reports.