CHINA KEEN TO CONTRIBUTE TO KARABAKH SETTLEMENT – ENVOY

Bilik Dunyasi news agency
4 Jan 05

Baku, 4 January: The Chinese ambassador to Azerbaijan, Zhang Xiyun,
has said that his country respects Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity
and sovereignty. “We have no vested interests in the Caucasus and
would be glad to see a solution to the Nagornyy Karabakh problem on
the basis of principles of justice and international law. In this
sense, we are ready to maintain close contact with the Azerbaijani
government and to contribute to a settlement, including a settlement
within the framework of the UN Security Council,” the ambassador said.

Asked whether the investigation into the illegal supplies of Typhoon
rocket mounts to Armenia had been completed, the ambassador said the
transaction had been carried out by a Chinese commercial firm without
the knowledge of the Chinese government.

Zhang Xiyun added that the Chinese side had provided an explanation
and informed the Azerbaijani authorities of the measures it had taken
to prevent this from happening again.

“I don’t think this incident should affect the development of
bilateral relations. We have to build our relations with a view to the
future, not to the past,” the diplomat said.

It should be remembered that facts of weapons supplies from China to
Armenia and Nagornyy Karabakh emerged several years ago. Eight Typhoon
rocket mounts were secretly shipped to Armenia, four of which were
immediately transferred to Nagornyy Karabakh. Azerbaijan regarded it
as an unfriendly gesture on the part of the People’s Republic of China
and issued an official protest note.