Azernews.Az

By Ayya Lmahamad

President Ilham Aliyev has said that Azerbaijan expects Armenia to fully comply with all the provisions of the trilateral declaration signed by Baku, Yerevan and Moscow on November 10, 2020.

He made the remarks while making a press statement with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow on February 22.

“We expect the Armenian side to fully comply with all the provisions of the Declaration of 9-10 November 2020 regarding the withdrawal of all Armenian armed forces from the territory of Karabakh, as well as the opening of communications between the main part of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, which is a legal obligation of the Armenian side,” he said.

The head of state noted that given Azerbaijan's long-term confrontation and massive losses, the fact that Azerbaijan and Armenia are already involved in at least two international formats [working group at the level of vice premiers of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, and the "3+3" platform] is an indication of the countries' intentions.

Aliyev thanked Russia and Vladimir Putin for their role in ending the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia and in post-conflict settlement efforts.

“President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin has played an important part in ending the war, moving the settlement from the hot phase to the phase of political settlement. And Russia is our main partner in finding ways to normalize relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia today,” he said.

Aliyev reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s readiness to start work on a peace treaty, which will also cover the issues of clarification of borders, delimitation and other issues that are necessary for countries interested in regulating relations between themselves.

“The new realities in the region, I am sure, will usher ample opportunities. Azerbaijan is set for a peaceful future. We don’t need war. We never needed it,” he said.

He stressed that the liberation of the Azerbaijani territories, the restoration of territorial integrity by military means was a necessary measure, adding that “our readiness to resolve this issue by political methods in the post-war period is another confirmation of our intentions”.

“I am sure that Russia and Azerbaijan will together continue to make a significant and, I would say, decisive contribution to the strengthening of peace in the Caucasus, to the strengthening of cooperation in the Caspian region and in the Eurasian space,” he said.

Moreover, touching upon the participation of Russian companies in Azerbaijan’s liberated lands, the president noted that to date, 14 applications have been received in this regard.

“I believe that this is a new area of our cooperation - it will be useful from a practical point of view and will also strengthen the level of our interaction,” he said.

Declaration of Allied Interaction

Noting that there is a very broad legal framework between the two countries, that is 245 signed documents, Aliyev underlined that the Declaration signed on February 22 is of particular importance.

“This Declaration brings our relations to the level of an alliance. This is both a great privilege and a great responsibility. We have been moving towards this day stubbornly, for a long time, building up the potential for cooperation, building relations based on sincerity, good neighborliness, pragmatism, and taking into account mutual interests,” he said.

He emphasized that a specific work on the Declaration began just over a year ago, noting that during this time, relevant expert groups of the two countries agreed on a very extensive document consisting of 43 provisions and covering almost all the main areas of bilateral activity.

The president noted that the first paragraph of the Declaration says that the parties will build their relations on the basis of mutual respect for independence, state sovereignty, territorial integrity, inviolability of borders and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs.

“The document not only sums up the results of many years of joint work but also opens up great prospects for the future. We will build up political cooperation. We will support each other in international structures, as before, we will increase mutual trade, the volume of mutual trade, and we will resolve all issues that are on the agenda,” he said.

Bilateral cooperation

Expressing the confidence that new opportunities are opening up in the trade and economic sphere, the president noted a significant increase in trade. He added that there are very promising opportunities for increasing mutual investment.

“Today we also discussed in detail the possibilities of deepening cooperation in the transport sector, and not only in a bilateral but also in a multilateral, regional format, taking into account the new situation in the region, the new geopolitical realities,” he said.

Speaking about the “3+3” cooperation platform, Aliyev expressed confidence that after taking the first step, the members of this platform will continue to cooperate.

“The issue of opening communications in the region was also discussed today and, I think, has very good prospects,” he said.

The president added that there are plans to restore the regular holding of the Baku Humanitarian Forum, which was interrupted due to the pandemic. He noted that it was held and will continue to be held under the patronage of the Russian and Azerbaijani presidents.

Aliyev also recalled that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

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