Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

The development and strengthening of relations with Azerbaijan is among the main priorities of the UK foreign policy, British Energy Minister Michael Fallon said in Baku on July 10.

Fallon arrived in Azerbaijan on July 9 for a three day visit to hold talks over new areas of cooperation with Azerbaijani leadership, ministers of energy, finance, telecommunications and high technologies, representatives of Azerbaijani State Oil Company (SOCAR) and other structures.

He said the cooperation between Azerbaijan and UK can be assessed as good and strong adding that the governments of both countries are seeking to expand the relations even further.

Fallon said Azerbaijan can play a leading role in the regional and European energy security.

Mentioning the latest events in Ukraine and recent crisis in Iraq, Fallon said these issues prioritized the diversification of energy supplies sources and reduction of Europe's dependence on unstable sources.

Speaking of renewable energy sources, Fallon noted the further development of the "Shah Deniz" field, as well as the implementation of the "Southern Gas Corridor" project.

As for the Southern Gas Corridor, Fallon noted that Azerbaijan is actively implementing the project. He underscored that the Southern Gas Corridor is extremely important from strategic, energy and political points of view.

The minister noted that one of the purposes of his visit to Azerbaijan is to confirm UK's commitment to this project that is designed for transporting Azerbaijani gas produced at the Shah Deniz field to Europe via Turkey.

He further said in September an important date will be marked - the 20th anniversary of the signing of the "Contract of the Century "[The contract on the development of "Azeri-Chirag- Guneshli" fields in Azerbaijan].

Fallon said the event would lead to further discussions on a new contract, as well as further deepening of UK-Azerbaijan relations.

Europe needs stable energy suppliers, such as Azerbaijan, Fallon said adding that Europe needs reliable oil and gas supplies.

He said that a big portion of the oil supplies was expected to be provided by Iraq, however the situation changed in such a way that now Europe needs oil supply from more stable countries, like Azerbaijan.

Fallon stressed that the purpose of his visit was to further strengthening relations between Azerbaijan and Great Britain, not only in the energy sector but also in the financial sector, infrastructure and other areas.

UK seeks settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Britain would like to see the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolved, Fallon told reporters.

"We are not a part of the OSCE Minsk Group, which deals with this issue, but certainly we would like to see this conflict resolved," he said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions