Poland Backs Azerbaijan In Conflict Over Nagorno-Karabakh

POLAND BACKS AZERBAIJAN IN CONFLICT OVER NAGORNO-KARABAKH

Islamic Republic News Agency
Feb 27 2008
Iran

Poland on Tuesday voiced support for its "strategic ally" Azerbaijan in
its conflict over the Armenian- controlled region of Nagorno-Karabakh,
press reports said.

"Poland recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," said
Polish President Lech Kaczynski after meeting his Azeri counterpart,
Ilham Aliyev, in Warsaw.

The Polish leader said his country shared Aliyev’s opinion that the
Nagorno-Karabakh enclave belonged to Azerbaijan.

Any peaceful solution of the conflict has to respect international law,
according to Kaczynski.

Meanwhile, the Azeri president thanked Poland for its staunch support.

He made clear that the integrity of Azerbaijan could not be the
subject of any negotiations.

Armenia controls Nagorno-Karabakh since the early 1990s following a
decade of war which killed between 20,000 and 30,000 and left tens
of thousands injured and homeless.

Aliyev who is presently on a two-day official visit in Poland, also
referred to the "strategic partnership" between Warsaw and Baku.

He called for a deepening of bilateral economic contacts, especially
in the oil and gas sector.

Poland is trying to lower its dependency on Russian energy supplies
and is looking at alternative energy sources, among them Azerbaijan.