AZERBAIJAN SEEKS TO HAVE GOOD RELATIONS WITH NEIGHBOURS, BUT ARMENIA SHOULD TAKE STEPS IN THIS DIRECTION TOO – FM

Trend News Agency
Sept 22 2009
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan seeks to have good relations with neighbours, but Armenia
should take steps in this direction too, said Azerbaijan’s Foreign
Minister Elmar Mamedyarov. He made this statement on Tuesday, speaking
at the Harriman Institute of Columbia University, Trend News special
correspondent in New York reported.

The meeting was attended by expert on former USSR and Eastern Europe
countries, former State Department official Stephen Sestanovich,
Azerbaijani Ambassador to the United States, Yashar Aliyev, head
of the Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan to the UN Agshin Mehdiyev,
professors and students of University.

In his speech, Mamedyarov particularly raised the issue of
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. According to the Minister, the resolution
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the main priority of Azerbaijan’s
foreign policy.

Azerbaijan has such a geopolitical location that the solution to
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is not only important for its own
development, but also for the development of the whole region,
said Mamedyarov.

He stressed that Azerbaijan’s position in this matter is clear:
20% of Azerbaijani lands are under occupation and more than a
million people are refugees, only after the return of these people
to their homes there can be any negotiations related to the status
of Nagorno-Karabakh.

In this regard, negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia are being
held, the influence of countries such as USA, Russia and France is
very important in resolving this conflict, said Mamedyarov.

Azerbaijan is located in the region, which unites East and West and
using its geopolitical situation, it always made efforts to achieve
stability in the region, he said.

Speaking of such projects as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline,
Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and
Nabucco gas pipeline, Elmar Mamedyarov said they have important role
in the development of statehood and sovereignty of Azerbaijan and
at the same time, they have large positive impact on the economic
development of Azerbaijan, the countries of the region and beyond it.