Azernews.Az

Czech President Vaclav Klaus has said he ``understands well`` Azerbaijan`s position in its long-standing conflict with neighboring Armenia over Nagorno Karabakh.

Speaking after talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Prague last Thursday, Klaus said that if a part of Czech territory were under occupation, he would not tolerate this either.

``I openly state that I understand Azerbaijan well in this respect,`` he told a joint news conference. ``I would not reconcile with a part of my country`s being under occupation either. But, unfortunately, I won`t be able to offer some kind of a miraculous solution to this problem [Karabakh conflict].``

About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including the Nagorno Karabakh region, has been under the occupation of Armenian armed forces since a fragile ceasefire was signed in 1994 following a brutal war. Numerous rounds of OSCE Minsk Group-brokered negotiations have been fruitless so far.

Czech and Azerbaijani officials prior to the news conference signed four agreements, which covered cooperation in the fields of tourism and culture and between the two countries` museums and libraries.

Economic cooperation was in spotlight during the meeting of Presidents Klaus and Aliyev.

The Czech leader told the press that his country currently meets 25 percent of its demand for oil with Azerbaijani crude.

President Aliyev said discussions also covered attracting Czech companies to infrastructure projects in Azerbaijan and that Baku is ready to provide suitable conditions for their operation in the country.

In reply to Czech journalists` questions regarding the Syria issue, Aliyev said Azerbaijan fully supports U.N. Arab-League envoy Kofi Annan`s peace plan and advocates for this stance in the U.N. Security Council.

``We hope that the situation will soon be resolved, and the killings of innocent people will be prevented,`` Aliyev added.

The U.N. says more than 9,000 people have died since pro-democracy protests erupted in Syria a year ago. The Syrian government insists it is combating ``armed terrorist gangs`` who are seeking to destabilize Syria.