EU envoy pleased with reforms – Azeri TV

Lider TV, Baku
7 Jul 05

[Presenter] The EU special representative for the South Caucasus,
Heikki Talvitie, has expressed satisfaction with the course of the
electoral campaign in Azerbaijan. He pointed out that the EU supports
peaceful struggle for power and evolution, but not revolution.

[Correspondent] The EU special representative for the South Caucasus,
Heikki Talvitie, who is visiting Baku, has said that the electoral
campaign in Azerbaijan indicates that the parliamentary elections
would be held democratically. Talvitie said that he had familiarized
himself with President Ilham Aliyev’s decree on improving the election
practice. He expressed his hope that the necessary conditions would be
created to ensure fair and transparent elections.

Talvitie said that democratic reforms being conducted in Azerbaijan
were at the centre of attention of the EU.

[Passage omitted: reiteration of the same ideas]

[Correspondent] Speaking about the Karabakh talks, Talvitie said that
he was satisfied with the current stage of the dialogue between the
[Azerbaijani and Armenian] foreign ministers. Talvitie also inquired
about the process of Azerbaijan’s integration into the EU.

At his meetings with President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov, the EU representative said that the EU was doing
everything possible to establish close ties with Azerbaijan within the
framework of its New Neighbourhood Policy.