Agence France Presse — English
October 23, 2004 Saturday

China sides with Azeris in Nargorno dispute

BAKU

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov said Saturday that his
Chinese counterpart Li Zhaoxing backed Azerbaijan in its territorial
dispute with neighboring Armenia over the enclave of
Nagorno-Karabakh.

“We received confirmation that the Chinese People’s Republic supports
Azerbaijan’s just position,” Mamedyarov told reporters after talks
with Li in the Azeri capital.

“China and Azerbaijan have common interests as far as Azerbaijan’s
sovereignty is concerned,” said Li.

Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a bloody war in the early 1990s ending
with Armenia’s de facto rule over the Nagorny-Karabakh ethnic
Armenian enclave, which is still internationally recognized as part
of Azerbaijan.

China has developed close ties with Azerbaijan, a Caucasus state,
where it has made a series of recent investments in its oil industry
as the Asian giant struggles to meet its growing energy needs.

Li said bilateral trade between China and Azerbaijan stood at 238
million dollars (188 million euros) last year.

“But there is a huge potential to expand trade and the economy,” Li
said, while pledging an additional 1.2 million dollars in aid.