Azernews.Az

By Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijan and the EU have very intensive consultations on the new strategic partnership agreement, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said on February 9.

He made the remarks at a joint news conference with EU High Representative Federica Mogherini following a meeting of the EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Council in Brussels.

“We are working very intensively with regard to different chapters of the agreement,” Mammadyarov said. “It is not easy, I have to admit. Now we are negotiating trade chapter.”

The FM noted that Azerbaijan continues working for accession to World Trade Organization (WTO). “We are trying to find a way to solve the issue related to trade chapter.”

The European Council adopted a mandate for the European Commission and the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy to negotiate, on behalf of the EU and its member states, a comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan in November 2016.

The new agreement should replace the 1996 partnership and cooperation agreement and should better take account of the shared objectives and challenges the EU and Azerbaijan face today.

Mogherini, in turn, said that negotiations between the European Union and Azerbaijan on the new strategic partnership agreement will be concluded soon.

She said that the meeting with Mammadyarov stimulated the expansion of the Azerbaijan-European Union cooperation, thus activating a new stage of bilateral negotiations.

Mogherini noted that the visit of President Ilham Aliyev last year represented a very important moment for the bilateral cooperation.

“We have a lot of challenges to face and a lot of opportunities to take. We also discussed the need for more regular, constructive exchanges in the field of security policy and we will also follow up on these ideas,” the high representative said.

She further stressed that Azerbaijan is an important partner of the European Union, which remains the largest foreign direct investor and trade partner of Azerbaijan.

Touching upon the Southern Gas Corridor, Mogherini noted that the project is just one example of Azerbaijan-EU strategic relationship in the field of energy that serves the interests of both sides.

“The inauguration of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad last year was also a significant step in expansion of transport connections between European Union, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Central Asia,” the high representative said.

Mogherini added that the aviation agreement that Azerbaijan and the EU are negotiating on, should also contribute to the connection of Azerbaijan and Europe.

“The ability of people from Azerbaijan and the countries of the European Union to travel, meet each other, visit each other’s country are of high strategic value in terms of geopolitics,” she said.

Mammadyarov also noted that the aviation agreement will help to boost relations in the tourism sphere.

“Currently, we work on an aviation agreement. We have already reached great success in the tourism sphere in Azerbaijan,” the FM said.

Mammadyarov also touched upon the decision of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to allocate a loan worth 1.5 billion euros for the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), saying that Azerbaijan welcomes this decision.

“It is expected that the inauguration of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) will take place this year,” he added.

TAP, worth 4.5 billion euros, is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union. The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.

Answering the question about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Mogherini said that it does not have a military resolution.

“Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains a very serious challenge. Resumption of high level dialogue in Vienna, St. Petersburg and Geneva is an important development. We would like to see the parties following up on the agreement to intensify negotiations and reduce tensions on the line of conflict,” she noted.

The high representative added that conflict needs political settlement in accordance with international law.

“European Union continuous to fully support the mediation efforts and proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group,” said Mogherini.

Mammadyarov, in turn, noted that UN Security Council Resolutions must be implemented by all member states.

The FM said that one of the biggest challenges which Azerbaijan is facing is the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“I briefed Mogherini about the latest discussions with OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. The conflict must be resolved, first of all, based on territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,” he noted.

The FM added that visits of agents of the illegal puppet regime established in occupied the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan to EU countries is of great concern.

“Illegal economic or other activities of legal and individuals of EU countries in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan are yet another matter of serious concern,” he stressed.

Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in a conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions.

The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the occupied lands of Azerbaijan, but they have not been enforced to this day.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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