FRENCH BRAIN CENTERS RECOGNIZES AZERBAIJAN AS REGIONAL LEADER AND RELIABLE PARTNER IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: HEAD OF AZERBAIJANI STRATEGIC RESEARCH CENTRE AT AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT
S. Agayeva
Trend News
April 16 2009
Azerbaijan
Director of Strategic Studies Center under Azerbaijani President
Elkan Nuriyev spoke with Trend News in an exclusive interview.
Trend News: Was the round table held in Paris recently successful
from the viewpoint of Azerbaijan’s positioning and informing the world
our country’s realities? Which issues caused a dispute in auditorium?
Elkhan Nuriyev: It was noted at a round table on Azerbaijan’s
present-day geo-policy held in the International Relations Institute
in France on April 7 that Azerbaijan is a leading country in the
South Caucasus from geo-strategic viewpoint.
International Relations Institute Executive Director Dominique
David also confirmed it. While opening the round table David stressed
significance of the round table in a period when the world faces global
energy crisis. He spoke of rich oil and gas fields of Azerbaijan
who has become leading geo-strategic regional player in the South
Caucasus. He also emphasized importance of transportation of these
natural resources to Europe.
I spoke about future strategy elaborated by national leader Heydar
Aliyev who established a modern state. I noted that Azerbaijani
has become a regional leader and reliable partner in international
relations. Regarding political and economic reforms that are being
implemented at the moment I said new stage of our country’s development
has been launched under President Ilham Aliyev’s leadership. New policy
and new strategic views have been formed. Along with economic growth,
Azerbaijan has also defined priorities of building and developing
open and democratic society.
Our country’s strategic choice is the course of modernization at the
current stage. Improving democratic system is one of the constituent
parts of this choice. Democracy is a sovereign right of each nation
which enables them to determine their development, strategy and
course. As an independent state, Azerbaijan uses sovereign right to
promote democracy and implement certain reforms.
As to Azerbaijan’s foreign policy, I said our country is pursuing
balanced and multi-faceted foreign policy. Azerbaijan is building ties
with neighbors and close and remote countries as a part of friendship
and partnership. This is strategic choice of our country. Principle
of a sound pragmatism has been formed under the successful foreign
policy strategy pursued by President Ilham Aliyev.
Naturally, participants of the event at the International Relations
Institute showed a great interest to the domestic and foreign policy
of Azerbaijan including analysis of current state and prospects of
development of Azerbaijan-Europe and Azerbaijan-France ties. The round
table was businesslike and constructive. The discussions contributed to
promoting intellectual dialogue between Azerbaijani and French experts.
Q: What is the French officials’ estimation of the French-Azerbaijani
relations in the contemporary stage and problems of evolution of the
Azerbaijanis society?
A: A meeting held in Paris with France-Azerbaijan parliamentary
friendship group head Jean-Lou Dumont focused on ongoing processes in
our country and development of interparliamentary relations. Dumont
is a member of the National Assembly [Parliament] on economy, finance
and plan and a special rapporteur on European budget.
The French MP spoke about interparliamentary contacts in detail and
voiced his satisfaction with the development of French-Azerbaijani in
the contemporary stage. Tracing back the evolution of the process,
he said that if earlier activity was demonstrated by Senate [Upper
House of French parliament], presently, National Assembly [Lower
House of the French Parliament] has also joined the process.
A 20-member parliamentary initiative group has been formed to lobby
Azerbaijan in the context of bilateral cooperation in different fields
under the aegis of the France-Azerbaijan parliamentary friendship
committee. Mr. Dumont informed that under his direct leadership a
French parliamentary mission visited Azerbaijan in summer and autumn
2008 and was received by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Dumont
said the meetings were fruitful, because the sides had exchange of
opinions on the current status and prospects of the French-Azerbaijani
cooperation.
He underlined interests towards problems of evolution of the
Azerbaijani society and voiced his confidence in the development
and improvement of democratic system on the basis of remarkable
achievements in economic, cultural and other fields given the existing
potential.
Q: What position does France take on issues of peace and security in
Caucasus region in the context of conflict solution, in particular,
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. What role does France, a leading European
country, play in this process?
A: During the ’roundtable’ at the Institute of International Relations,
broad discussions were held on the solution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. I stated that Azerbaijan’s position
on this issue is unchangeable. Azerbaijan demands rehabilitation
of its territorial integrity within the framework of national
sovereignty, and withdrawal of Armenian forces from its occupied
lands. Afterwards, it is possible to carry out negotiations on the
status of Nagorno-Karabakh. Ho matter how broad the status can be,
it will be provided only within the frames of the country and on the
basis of its territorial integrity. In its foreign policy Azerbaijan
pursues one goal: to restore peace and stability in the whole region.
By noting a position of France as a member of the Minsk Group
in peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, French
Parliamentarian Dumont stressed necessity to observe a principle of
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. Dumont also emphasized to provide
long-lasting peace and regional security through dialogue both at the
OSCE Minsk Group level and international contacts at the Azerbaijani
and Armenian supreme leadership’s level.
While analyzing the latest Russian-Georgia developments in the
region, Dumont and other French experts unambiguously stressed
equilibrium and realism of the Azerbaijani government’s foreign
political strategy. It is not surprising that at the exchange of
opinion process, representatives of the French expert community agreed
with necessity of more active interaction between France and Germany
as key members of the European Union (EU) in settlement of conflicts
in the South Caucasus.
Q: What is France’s vision of implementing energy projects in the
region and problems of the European Union’s (EU) energy security?
A: The French experts who attended the "round table" noted
that transnational projects, such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan,
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum enabled Azerbaijan to make
a geopolitical progress and, respectively, Azerbaijan realizes its
strategic role and has gained its strategic place in the system of
integration with the world economy. Moreover, Azerbaijan is recognized
at the world political arena as a serious geopolitical state.
During the exchange of opinions, French Parliamentarian Dumont
and other experts considered Nabucco project as an opportunity
to supply the EU with alternative energy resources regarding the
recent Russian-Ukrainian crisis which caused gaps in fuel deliveries
to Europe. Furthermore, they emphasized necessity to deepen the
French-Azerbaijani cooperation in energy field under the French Total
corporation’s activity.
Q: Which perspectives of cooperation are there between the Strategic
Research Centre at the Azerbaijani President and the French
Scientific-Research Institute?
A: Different meetings with the French brain centers’ leaders took
place in Paris, as well. The meeting with Director of the French
International Relations and Strategic Research Institute Pascal
Boniface and Head of Choiseul Institute Pascal Loro focused on topical
issues of development of cooperation and exchange of opinions between
the sides, problems of scientific-research character, as well as
issues of joint implementing important regional projects. Heads of the
French brain centers displayed a great interest to activate contacts
between the two countries’ scientific-political elites. And then, it is
planned to develop several corporate projects on scientific-analytical
research, including organizing joint international conferences and
regional "round tables" to be held in Baku and Paris.