Azerbaijan relies on own forces in fight against terrorism – foreign minister

Ekho Moskvy news agency, Moscow
18 Aug 04

There is still room for negotiations and the sides can achieve
progress in the Nagornyy Karabakh settlement, Azerbaijani Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said in a live broadcast on Ekho Moskvy
radio on 18 August following talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey
Lavrov in Moscow. Russia, being a mediator in the talks, is
responsible for finding a speedy solution to the problem, he
said. Terrorism is a major threat to the country, and Azerbaijan
relies in the first place on its own forces in the fight against
international terrorism, the minister said. Speaking about the
country’s oil policy, Mammadyarov said that Russian oil giant LUKoil
was an important player on Azerbaijan’s oil market. The following is
the text of the interview by Russian news agency Ekho Moskvy on 18
August; subheadings have been inserted editorially:

South Ossetia

Azerbaijan believes that the situation around South Ossetia should be
resolved within the framework of Georgia’s territorial integrity,
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has said in a live
broadcast on Ekho Moskvy radio.

“Georgia is our strategic partner and a very close trade and economic
partner, we have very similar positions on many issues in
international relations,” he said. At the same time, Azerbaijan calls
for a peaceful settlement of the conflict around South Ossetia. “War
is too a radical solution to the issue,” Mammadyarov said.

Oil

“Following the reforms to build a market economy in the country,
energy exports have acquired a commercial nature,” Elmar Mammadyarov
said. He said that increasing the volume of Azerbaijani crude
transported via the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline was discussed at talks
with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday [18
August]. But both sides understand that “this depends on commercial
costs”, Mammadyarov said.

It is not important for Azerbaijan in principle companies of what
countries work in the country’s energy sector, everything is defined
by the “tariff policy” – ” those who offer better terms get
contracts”, the Azerbaijani foreign minister said.

He also said that [Russia’s] LUKoil was still “quite an important
player on Azerbaijan’s oil market”. In particular, “joint development
of a number of fields in the Caspian” is under way.

The construction of the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline will end in the
second quarter of 2005, Mammadyarov said. He added that up to 70 per
cent of the pipeline has been built so far. He said that this was
“quite a complicated project” because the pipeline will go through
many countries.

Karabakh

“We want the Minsk Group to be more active in the settlement” of the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, the Azerbaijani foreign minister said.

The OSCE Minsk Group “has the potential that it has to use and put
into action. We expect the co-chairs of the group – the USA, France
and Russia – to be more actively involved in the negotiations,” he
said. “These super powers should make consistent efforts to resolve
the problem,” he noted. Russia, as a co-chair of the Minsk Group, “is
responsible for finding a speedy solution to the issue,” Mammadyarov
stressed.

Speaking about the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, Mammadyarov said
that there still was room for negotiations and that “we can achieve
some results if the sides wish”.

The problem of displaced persons has to be resolved within the
settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh problem, Mammadyarov
stressed. “According to available information, Armenia is settling
people on the occupied territory”, which could result in a conflict if
some progress is achieved during the talks, he said. “If Armenia is
carrying out a purposeful programme on settling people on that
territory, then it can provide support to families,” Mammadyarov
said. In any case, this issue should be solved within the framework of
international law, the Azerbaijani foreign minister said.

Terrorism

Azerbaijan views terrorism as a major foreign threat, Mammadyarov
said.

He said that this could be explained in the first place by the
country’s geopolitical position. A total of 32 terror acts have been
carried out in Azerbaijan since the collapse of the USSR, Mammadyarov
said.

At the same time, the Azerbaijani foreign minister said that
Azerbaijan and Russia stuck to similar positions in the fight against
international terrorism. However, in the fight against international
terrorism “Azerbaijan will rely in the first place on its own forces”,
Mammadyarov stressed.