BOGDAN AURESCU: "I CONSIDER THAT THE MOMENT OF A FINAL SETTLEMENT OF NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT CANNOT BE FAR AWAY"
APA
June 17 2009
Azerbaijan
Baku. Victoria Dementyeva – APA. Interview by Bogdan Aurescu, State
Secretary for Strategic Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Romania to APA
– How do you evaluate the present day stage of relations between
Romania and Azerbaijan? Which are, in your opinion, the priority
fields of these relations?
– Since the "rebirth" of the Republic of Azerbaijan as a new
independent state on the map of the world in 1991, relations with
Romania have constantly developed and extended, reaching today
an excellent level. A sustained exchange of visits at all levels,
and especially the meetings of our presidents, helped us know and
understand each other, thus permanently consolidating the Romania –
Azerbaijani bilateral relations. The catalyzing role of the political
dialogue at the highest level was demonstrated by the density of
presidential visits and we trust that that the upcoming visit of
President Ilham Aliyev to Romania shall reconfirm this. It will be
the fourth official visit of President Ilham Aliyev to Romania and
it is our hope that this visit will further strengthen the strategic
partnership between our countries, occasioning the signing of new
agreements that shall complete the already existing bilateral legal
framework. These agreements have a special relevance since they are
fully harmonized with the requirements of the European Union, thus
also stimulating a closer cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU.
Regarding today’s priorities, our task now is to bring bilateral
economic cooperation to the peaking level of our political relations. I
trust that the 4th meeting of the Joint Economic Commission to
be held this year in Baku will give the necessary impetus to our
economic relations. The economic crisis is at our doors, and only
closer cooperation between countries can help confront it. In the
globalizing world of today it is only together that we can succeed.
– What was the purpose of your visit to Baku? What can you say about
the NATO Seminar you have attended?
– The visit provided me an excellent – and I would dare say – also
an expected opportunity to have consultations with my counterpart
in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan on
security issues. I also met other high level Azerbaijani officials
and we discussed the present stage of the bilateral relations. This
means that we analyzed all dossiers, we properly marked the stage
reached by each of them and decided together what should be done for
a better cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
The consultations on security issues came first on the agenda of my
visit. In this framework we had an exchange of views on international
and regional security issues of mutual interest. Special attention was
paid to the threats affecting the stability of the wider Black Sea
region, such as organized crime, money laundering, drug trafficking
or illegal migration.
I also took advantage of my presence in Baku to attend a NATO seminar
entitled: "Energy Security: Challenges and Opportunities", where I
delivered a keynote speech.
– The South Caucasus is perceived as a region of instability, mainly
due to the protracted conflicts. Which is the position of Romania
regarding the solving of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?
– Romania is a European Union member state that shares and promotes
the position of the EU, to support the solving of this conflict in
particular and of other regional conflicts by peaceful means. We attach
special importance in this respect to the role of sustained, effective
dialogue between the two involved sides, under the mediation of the
OSCE Minsk Group, as the most appropriate framework for solving the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue. This does not exclude other initiatives aimed
at bringing the two sides nearer to a final long lasting solution, but
these efforts must be complementary to the main framework mentioned
before. The long fifteen years of negotiations under the Minsk
Group and the experience thus accumulated can hardly be discarded
or challenged. The EU bodies and the European Parliament are making
periodic assessments of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Romania
takes active part in these processes, strongly supporting a solution
with the observance of the principles of international law, including
those related to sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability
of borders, in accordance with the UN relevant resolutions, always
claiming the supremacy of the international law principles, especially
on territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders.
Peaceful settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is strongly supported
by Romania, as one can see that the situation on the ground can easily
evolve from a relatively frozen conflict to a new hot-spot on the
political map of the world. This situation, with the recurring exchange
of fire on the contact line, keeps the whole Caucasus region under the
threat of instability, making the business sector avoid investments
here, and affecting the prospect and the everyday life of people.
Romania’s position, as reiterated on numerous occasions, and especially
clearly expressed by the President of Romania, Mr. Traian Basescu,
both in Baku and in other capitals, is that, with no exception,
we ask for full observance of the international law principles,
including those related to territorial integrity and the inviolability
of borders. At the same time, we cannot under-estimate the increasing
number of almost daily military incidents on the front-line, which not
only raise the number of causalities, but also make the negotiation
process more difficult.
While carefully following the developments, especially the
intensification of diplomatic negotiations at presidential level,
we hope that these efforts will bring new positive results. That is
why I consider that the moment of a final settlement cannot be far
away. Therefore we have to think ahead, to the post-conflict period.
– Romania has recently taken over the attributions of NATO Contact
Point Embassy (CPE) in Azerbaijan. Which are your expectations under
these circumstances? What new elements can Romania bring in its new
position as NATO CPE in the relation with Azerbaijan?
– According to Allied internal procedures, this year Romania took over
from Turkey the position of NATO Contact Point Embassy in Azerbaijan
for a 2-year period. We know that after several mandates of Turkey in
this position we face a real challenge in living up to expectations,
but I trust that Romania is the best choice of the moment for this
mission. Anyway, I hope that at the end Azerbaijan will be the
big winner.
I am convinced that this responsibility represents not only a good
opportunity to help strengthening the relations between Azerbaijan and
NATO, but also a new impetus to deepening relations between Romania
and Azerbaijan, and a catalyst to our partnership contribution to
regional security and stability.
While Romania is a relatively new member of the NATO, with a history
in the Alliance of only five years, I believe that these circumstances
also represent an advantage, as we have been able to know both from
the outside and from the inside how things work in relation to NATO. We
know, maybe better than older members, what interests and aspirations
Eastern European countries like Azerbaijan have in their cooperation
and partnership with NATO.
No doubt, our efforts will also contribute to the success in Azerbaijan
of the second Individual Partnership Action Plan and to a better
coordination of the efforts made by NATO and supported by Azerbaijan
to stabilize the political situation in Afghanistan.
I must underline that, as a NATO Contact Point Embassy we do not have
any operational tasks; we are not an Embassy of NATO. In fact NATO does
not have embassies anywhere in the world, but needs the logistical
support of the member states’ embassies in partner countries, and
this is exactly what we do: we help NATO, through our diplomatic
mission in Baku, in all its activities here.
Among other things, we organize logistic support for NATO officials
visiting Azerbaijan, facilitate meetings, organize conferences
and seminars, political discussions and debates on NATO issues. In
fulfilling these tasks we count extensively on the full support of
the Azerbaijani authorities and on the help of all the Embassies of
NATO member states represented in Baku.
One of our most important tasks is to contribute to better informing
the Azerbaijani public opinion about the missions and objectives
of NATO. In our capacity as Contact Point Embassy we intend to
communicate not only with the political circles and officials, but
also with ordinary citizens in this country.
I believe that journalists, opinion makers, think tankers, as well as
schools and universities, libraries and even business establishments
in Azerbaijan can be instrumental in helping us making NATO an
organization which is better known and understood in your country.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
