BAKU Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev underwent successful heart bypass surgery during a visit to the United States, the president administration said Friday. Presidential Press Spokesperson Vakhid Azizov said that Aliyev was operated on Thursday in Cleveland, Ohio after being admitted for tests on Tuesday. "After his visit to Washington, President Aliyev traveled to Cleveland, Ohio," said Azizov. "There on April 27 he had a medical checkup in the Cleveland clinic.

"And on April 29 in the same clinic an aorta-coronary bypass was performed on the president," Azizov added. U.S. heart specialist Michael Debakey, who also attended Russian President Boris Yeltsin's heart operation in November 1996, oversaw Aliyev's surgery, the ITAR-TASS news agency reported. (AFP)