Azerbaijani FM: Southern Gas Corridor to open up broad opportunities for European energy security
By Sara Rajabova
Baku has urged the European Union to fulfill the obligations undertaken by the organization to support Azerbaijan's sovereignty and territorial integrity, which are reflected in the European Neighborhood Policy Action Plan passed in 2006.
The statement was made by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov at the fourth meeting of the foreign ministers of the EU and the Eastern Partnership in Brussels on July 22, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.
Mammadyarov said that the prospects for a dialogue between Azerbaijan and the EU as well as achievement of real progress at the negotiations on Association Agreement are possible based on the commitment to the principles of mutual trust and partnership.
The minister said Azerbaijan is interested in the development of equitable and strategic partnership with the EU.
Speaking about the Southern Gas Corridor -- a planned series of links aimed at diversifying the routes and sources of energy supply for European countries, Mammadyarov said the decisions on the project will open up broad opportunities to ensure Europe's energy security, as well as political and economic cooperation with the EU.
He also pointed out that the negotiations on visa regime facilitation and readmission agreements between the EU and Azerbaijan are being finalized. Signing these documents before the Vilnius summit is important.
Azerbaijan-EU relations are based on the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement that was signed in 1996 in Luxembourg and came into force in 1999. In 2009, the EU foreign ministers gave the European Commission a mandate to start negotiations on the conclusion of bilateral association agreements between Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia on the one hand and the EU on the other. These agreements will serve as a new practical instrument to replace bilateral action plans.
Azerbaijan is also a part of the EU Eastern Partnership program adopted at the initiative of Poland and Sweden and approved at the EU summit in Brussels in 2008. It is aimed at improving EU relations with six former Soviet countries -- Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine and Armenia.
On the sidelines of the fourth ministerial, Mammadyarov had a meeting with his Ukrainian and Greek counterparts and discussed prospects for the expansion of bilateral relations.
During the meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Leonid Kozhara, Mammadyarov mulled the topical issues of Azerbaijani-Ukrainian relations and cooperation of the two countries within international organizations.
The Eastern Partnership Ministerial was headed by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule.
The meeting was attended by the foreign ministers of EU member states and the countries participating in the Eastern Partnership initiative and other senior officials.
The current status of the Eastern Partnership, up to date achievements since Warsaw Summit, the preparation and subsequent partnership perspectives of Vilnius Summit which will take place on November 28-29 topped the agenda of the discussions.