U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Bill Burns will pay an official visit to Azerbaijan next week, U.S. State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley said at the briefing on Friday.

February 19, Burns intends to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and civil society members to reinforce the strength of bilateral relations, State Department website reads.

Bill Burns will also visit Lebanon, Syria and Turkey on Feb. 16-19. The U.S. official plans to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other officials.

A.G.