APA, Azerbaijan
April 18 2009
Novruz Mammadov: `Azerbaijan has pursued and will pursue
comprehensively weighed up and independent foreign policy’ ` EXCLUSIVE
[ 18 Apr 2009 15:43 ]
`¦I don’t understand so much love, attention and care to an
aggressor country. Everybody sees that recently the West is taking all
steps to improve the wellbeing of tacountry, which occupied the
territories of Azerbaijan. I don’t understand that’.
Baku. Lachin Sultanova `APA. `The working visit of the President of
Azerbaijan to Moscow has been planned since the beginning of this
year. Despite that some politicians, journalists and political
analysts explained it as they like, but they were wrong’, Chief of the
International Relations Department of the President’s Office Novruz
Mammadov told APA, commenting on the President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to
Russia.
`We have very close relations with our big neighbor Russia, we have
friendly relations and strategic partnership and these relations are
extended year by year. Meetings and relations between the Azerbaijani
and Russian leadership have a traditional character. These processes
take place every year and the presidents meet in various places. I
give great importance to this visit’, said the department chief and
added that the visit was very important and covered a;; specters of
bilateral relations.
Mammadov said the presidents have wide discussions on the future
prospects of the relations. `Our relationship is very developed in the
trade, economic, humanitarian and energy fields. It needs to take it
into consideration that Russian Federation is important for Azerbaijan
as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, the mediator in the settlement
of Armenian-Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the solution to
the conflict was also focused at the meetings. The presidents said at
the briefing that they had very useful meetings and found out new
opportunities for the cooperation in a number of spheres, including
the energy field particularly. The President of Azerbaijan noted that
they had wide discussions over the solution to Nagorno Karabakh
conflict. The Russian president said Russia made all efforts to bring
inline the positions of Armenia and Azerbaijan’.
Mammadov emphasized that Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents could
meet this year. `If we take the current situation and processes into
consideration, there is a great probability for the progresses’.
Asked `What is your view on Turkish media reports claiming Azerbaijan
has opted to give up a balance in foreign policy orientation and
tilted towards Russia,’ he answered that Azerbaijan has pursued and
will continue to pursue a balanced, comprehensively weighed up and
independent foreign policy.
`Azerbaijan’s relations with Turkey are at the high level and
relations have always been on track of development. We are committed
to continuing this afterwards. I also highly appreciate the relations
between Azerbaijan and the United States. At the same time,
Azerbaijan’s relations with the West are and will be developing apace.
There are frequent visits to Russia, there are frequent meetings,
these possibilities come true, there is no need to interpret this in
another way. Azerbaijan’s doors for cooperation are open in all
vectors. Our relations with the West are at the high level, I highly
appreciate this. But in my personal view, unfortunately, I can’t see
adequate reaction in the West’s relationship with Azerbaijan. Since we
gained independence, Azerbaijan’s steps directed to energy and
integration. We carried out many reforms in conjunction with NATO and
European Union. In return for these, we see very great care an
attention to Armenia which have continued to occupy 20 percent of our
territories over the past 20 years. I note that this is not a fair
position. I don’t understand so much love, attention and care [they
devote] to an aggressor. Everybody sees the West has recently moved
to take all steps to ease and improve the state and wellbeing of a
country which occupied Azerbaijan’s territories. I can’t understand
this,’ he added.
Asked `which areas Azerbaijan wants to see prioritized in the Eastern
Partnership Programme’, he said that this will be discussed in an EU
meeting in May.
`Azerbaijani President will express the country’s position during the
discussion. Simply, we want the fate of Eastern Partnership Initiative
not to be as that of the European Neighborhood Policy. We joined the
European Neighborhood Policy, what steps did Europe take in return?
What did the EU want to do? What did? It is not possible to this
clearly. Within the framework of the Eastern Partnership, we would
like everything to be fair, a special programme to be developed for
each country, concrete steps to be taken and initiatives to be
developed,’ he added.