AMBASSADOR TO ITALY MEETS WITH ITALIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER
[July 11, 2006, 20:47:41]

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
July 11 2006

Ambassador of Azerbaijan in Rome Italy Emil Kerimov met here on
Monday with Faminao Krucianelli, the Italian Deputy Foreign Minister
responsible for relations with the South Caucasus.

The Ambassador congratulated Mr. Krucianelli on his new appointment and
Italy’s becoming a football World Cup winner. He added that on this
occasion, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev had sent congratulatory
messages to his Italian counterpart Giorgio Napolitano and Prime
Minister of the country Romano Prodi.

Mr. Kerimov pointed out that there are wide opportunities for deepening
relations between the two countries in all fields. He described Italy
as Azerbaijan’s large trade partner mentioning that such Italian
companies as Edison, Technimont and Fincantieri show great interest
in making business in Azerbaijan.

The Ambassador thanked the Italian side for rendering technical and
humanitarian assistance to Azerbaijan. He stressed the necessity
of organizing a political dialogue between leaderships of the two
countries after reshufflings in the Italian government.

Mr. Krucianelli said Italy is interested in expanding relations with
Azerbaijan noting the country is located in a very important region,
possesses rich natural resources and huge economic potential. He added
his country is striving for enhancement of cooperation in not only
energy but also other sectors of the economy. Mr. Krucianelli also
pointed out Italy’s intention to contribute to democratic development
in Azerbaijan.

Ambassador Kerimov dwelt on democratic reforms being implemented
in Azerbaijan, and the policy conducted by the government towards
economic development and bettering people’s well-being. He noted,
however, that full-scale development of the region is being hampered
by the aggressive policy of Armenia resulted in occupation of 20% of
the Azerbaijan’s territories, destruction of cultural monuments on
the occupied territories, ethnic cleansing and plight of more than
one million Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced people.
"All this poses serious threat to security and regional cooperation
in the Caucasus," he said. Taking the chance, Mr. Kerimov thanked
the Italian side for the support of the territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan. He added that Azerbaijan wants this conflict to be resolved
on the basis of the norms and principles of the international law,
and within the framework of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

Mr. Krucianelli expressed regret about the unresolved conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh noting his country is ready to contribute to peaceful
resolution of the problem. He added that the existing conflicts in
the South Caucasus jeopardize stability and security in the region,
and stressed the need for more active involvement of the European
Union in the process of their settlement.