OIC SECRETARY GENERAL: "OCCUPATION OF THE AZERI TERRITORIES IS A PROBLEM NOT OF AZERBAIJAN ONLY BUT OF THE WHOLE MUSLIM WORLD"

Today, Azerbaijan
June 18 2006

OIC session to address broad agenda.

Representatives of 90 countries are to attend a session of the
Organization of the Islamic Conference’s (OIC) foreign ministers in
Baku on June 19-21, Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told a
news conference on Sunday, Interfax reports.

"Of the OIC’s 57 member-nations, 51 countries have already confirmed
their participation in the session. Another 33 countries will
be represented by their foreign ministers. The event will also
involve representatives of the Council of Europe, the OSCE and other
international organizations," he said.

The session’s agenda includes 99 issues, he said. "Among other matters,
we will discuss the occupation of the Azeri territories and assess
the damage caused by Armenia’s occupation of the Azeri territories
and the destruction of monuments there," the minister said.

The participants in the meeting will also exchange their views on
the diplomatic impasse over Iran’s nuclear program, the situation in
Iraq and the Palestinian territories. "All these problems should be
resolved diplomatically," Mammadyarov said.

The Muslim world’s role in global energy projects is crucial,
OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said at the same
news conference. He welcomed Kazakhstan’s decision to join the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.

"We are entering a new epoch of global energy projects with the
participation of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkey and other countries
of the Muslim world," he said.

Ihsanoglu, however, expressed concern over security worldwide and the
situation in the Palestinian territories and other conflict-ridden
regions.

"Our aim is not to stay away from ongoing processes. We attach great
importance to cooperation in ensuring peace and security worldwide.

The Palestinian issue is a common problem facing the Muslim world. We
are concerned about continuing terrorist attacks that claim civilian
lives," Ihsanoglu said.

"We are all concerned about Iran’s nuclear issue, the problem of Azeri
refugees from Nagorno Karabakh and the Palestinian issue. All these
problems have had a negative impact on security around the globe,"
he said.

"The occupation of the Azeri territories is a problem of Azerbaijan
and the Muslim world as a whole," he said.

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