Baku Today
Feb 25 2005
President meets Italian counterpart
President Ilham Aliyev started his two-day official visit to Italy on
Thursday.
The Nagorno Karabakh conflict was in focus at the President’s meeting
with his Italian counterpart Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, Aliyev told a
joint news conference afterwards.
Aliyev expressed his dissatisfaction with the activity of the OSCE
Minsk Group, reiterating that he supports a conflict settlement
within international legal norms. He said that the four resolutions
on the Karabakh conflict passed by the UN Security Council simply
remain on paper because of Armenia. From this standpoint, the two
presidents emphasized the importance of conducting reforms in the
United Nations and creating relevant mechanisms that would allow
increasing its influence.
The President also said that Italy-Azerbaijan relations are
developing successfully. He noted that Azerbaijan is rapidly
integrating into Euro-Atlantic organizations and has been the
initiator of numerous economic projects, implemented in the South
Caucasus region.
Italian President Ciampi, in turn, said that favorable conditions
have been created to expand the current ties between the two
countries. He highly appreciated Azerbaijan’s activity in the Council
of Europe and the successful fulfillment of its commitments to the
organization.
Touching upon the Karabakh conflict, Ciampi said that his country is
ready to assist Azerbaijan in its resolution.
`Italy faced a similar problem before and is ready to assist
Azerbaijan using this experience’, he said.
President Aliyev also met with Italian Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi and Chairman of Italian ENI oil company Roberto Poli.
ENI is involved in the development of hydrocarbon reserves in
Azerbaijan and holds a share in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC)
pipeline project.
On Friday, Aliyev will attend a forum to be participated in by
Italian businessmen. Documents on cooperation in economics, customs,
culture and mass media, as well as on fraternization of Baku and
Rome, will be signed.
Azerbaijani and Italian presidents are expected to sign a joint
declaration.*