Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov received a delegation led by EU Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn on June 16.

The sides held discussions on the next round of negotiations on a new Azerbaijan-EU partnership agreement, expressing confidence that the work on a draft agreement will be completed before the Eastern Partnership summit to be held late this year, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry told APA.

They announced that the next round of talks on the draft agreement will be held in July. 

Mammadyarov noted that conducting constructive and intensive negotiations on the draft agreement is a positive development.

The minister said that political and trade issues were mainly discussed at this stage of the talks.

He pointed out that Azerbaijan remains a reliable partner of the EU.

Briefing on the ongoing negotiations on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Mammadyarov stressed that this conflict is a major threat to the region.

He added that the presence of Armenian troops in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and Armenia’s policy aimed at maintaining the occupation-based status quo makes it impossible to make progress in resolving the conflict.

Mammadyarov also pointed out the importance of the European Union approaching the matter of protracted conflicts on the basis of territorial integrity and sovereignty of states within their international recognized borders, as stated in the EU Global Strategy for Foreign and Security Policy.

EU Commissar Johannes Hahn, in turn, offered his congratulations on 15 June – the National Salvation Day of Azerbaijan and noted the existence of pragmatic and practical cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan in the areas of transport, trade, connectivity, and energy.

The sides also exchanged their views on development prospects for EU-Azerbaijan relations and regional issues of common interest.