Azerbaijan's role in NATO operations hailed
By Sara Rajabova
Azerbaijan's role in ensuring stability and security in South Caucasus was praised during a meeting between Azerbaijani and Poland officials in Baku.
Azerbaijan`s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met Deputy Minister Foreign of Poland Tomasz Orlowski on September 18, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.
The sides also praised the current state of relations between the two countries.
Orlowski lauded Azerbaijan`s contribution to NATO operations to protect international peace and security.
NATO and Azerbaijan are actively cooperating in democratic, institutional and military reforms. They also take part in joint projects in various fields. The cooperation plan between Azerbaijan and the NATO has been set out in the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) on Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan is aimed at achieving Euro-Atlantic standards and get closer to Euro-Atlantic institutions. In this regard, supporting reforms in the security sector and establishing democratic institutions are among the key elements of the NATO-Azerbaijan cooperation.
Mammadyarov said Azerbaijan was also contributing to the stability in and beyond the region through the energy and infrastructure projects as well as the mutually beneficial cooperation network.
Referring to the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the "Contract of the Century" on September 20, Mammadyarov highlighted the groundbreaking ceremony dedicated to the broadening of the Southern Gas Corridor and launching of Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline.
Touching upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Mammadyarov noted that the problem remains a major threat to the security of the region, adding that the current status-quo is unacceptable as mentioned at different levels by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, 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's four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal have not been enforced to this day.
Mammadyarov stressed that first and foremost, Armenian armed forces must withdraw from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan for the settlement of the conflict.
While discussing the relations with the European Union, the sides emphasized the importance of developing relations within the Eastern Partnership considering the different interests and capabilities of the states.
Stressing that Azerbaijan has a strategic partnership in energy sector with the European Union, Mammadyarov expressed Azerbaijan's intention in building strategic partnership ties with EU in other fields as well.
The sides had an exchange of views on regional and other issues of common interest.