On June 6, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will visit Azerbaijan to meet Azerbaijani Defense Minister Colonel General Safar Abiyev.

According to Chief Spokesman to the U.S. Secretary of Defense Geoff Morrell, the meeting is an opportunity for expressing the USA’s gratitude to Azerbaijan. The officials will also discuss the ways of improving bilateral cooperation to maintain the level of support going through Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani Trend news agency reports referring to a statement by Pentagon.

About a quarter of the supplies bound for U.S. forces in Afghanistan pass through Azerbaijan, Morrell said.

On June 3, Robert Gates starts his Asian trip to participate in a major Asian security conference in Singapore.

He will hold meetings with his counterparts from New Zealand, India, Vietnam, Mongolia, Japan and South Korea.

Gates will travel to London from Azerbaijan to meet the new British Prime-Minister.