Azernews.Az

BAKU – The European Union considers Azerbaijan its close partner, and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso’s last visit to the country is evidence of that, EU-Azerbaijan parliamentary cooperation committee’s co-chairman Milan Cabrnoch has said.

Cabrnoch told a press conference after the 11th meeting of the committee that ended in Baku Tuesday that since the previous session, held in December 2009, a number of events have occurred in Azerbaijan -- the parliamentary elections, Azerbaijan's representation in Euronest, the newly established parliamentary assembly of the EU’s Eastern Partnership program, and its Eurovision victory.

He said that during the two-day discussions participants exchanged views on human rights. EU lawmakers expressed gratitude for journalist Eynulla Fatullayev’s release.

"During the discussion of the Nagorno Karabakh problem, we once again expressed the EU position on resolving this conflict, and stressed that the conflict should be resolved based on the principles of territorial integrity and the people’s right to self-determination," Cabrnoch said.

Valeh Alasgarov, another co-chairman of the EU-Azerbaijan committee, said at the press conference that
economic, political and social relations were discussed during the meeting.

"The discussions covered combating organized crime, human trafficking, drug smuggling, as well as money laundering," Alasgarov said.

Regarding Azerbaijan’s potential EU membership, Cabrnoch said that this issue is not a topic of discussion at this point.

Alasgarov in turn said the issue could not be raised until Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity is restored and the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is fairly resolved.

Cabrnoch said the Karabakh conflict should be resolved soon, as its resolution is a condition for the development of the whole region. However, the conflict does not prevent the expansion of energy cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan, he said.

Alasgarov said Azerbaijan expects an equal partnership from its cooperation with the EU.