President Aliyev, Stefan Fule discuss co-op development
By Nigar Orujova
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev received a delegation led by EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule, who visited Baku to attend the fourth informal meeting of foreign ministers of EU Eastern Partnership countries, on September 9.
The sides expressed satisfaction with the development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the European Union.
They exchanged views on the expansion of cooperation within the Eastern Partnership programme, settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the issues related to the development of ties between Azerbaijan and the European Union on various fronts, including political, economic, energy and other fields.
During the Baku visit, Fule has also met with Economy and Industry Minister Shahin Mustafayev.
Fule welcomed the socio-economic development in Azerbaijan and noted that the EU attaches importance to developing ties with the country.
Mustafayev, in turn, noted that the relations between Azerbaijan and the EU are developing successfully and Azerbaijan is a trusted partner of the EU in the energy security of Europe.
He also stressed that a number of projects have been implemented in the energy sector. At the same time, work is continuing to update the legal framework and agreements on visa facilitation and readmission came into force from this September.
Mustafayev also drew attention to the fact that as a result of the occupation policy of Armenia, 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory is under occupation.
The Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a serious obstacle to the development of cooperation in the region and prevent the disclosure of the full potential of the region, he said.
For over two decades, Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in the conflict which emerged over Armenia's territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor.
Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since 1994, but long-standing efforts by U.S., Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions calling on its pullout from the neighboring country's territories.