MERZ WELCOMES AZERI PRESIDENT
Swissinfo
Oct 20 2009
Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz on Monday met with Ilham Aliyev,
the president of Azerbaijan, in Bern.
Merz was accompanied by Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey and
Moritz Leuenberger, who holds the environment, transport and energy
portfolios.
The delegation, which included Azerbaijan’s foreign affairs, energy
and culture ministers, then met for a working lunch also attended by
Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf.
Switzerland’s foreign ministry called the Central Asian country
a "stable partner". It noted that while economic contacts had
strengthened, there was still potential for "great improvement".
The two sides discussed economic and energy cooperation, bilateral
policies and the country’s conflict with Armenia over the territory
of Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave with a majority Armenian population.
Switzerland was the primary broker of a peace deal signed by Armenia
and Turkey on October 10. The struggle over Nagorno-Karabakh escalated
after both Armenia and Azerbaijan attained independence from the
Soviet Union in 1991. Azerbaijan and Turkey have strong links.
Calmy-Rey’s recently-completed tour of Central Asia did not include
Azerbaijan.