Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide has discussed bilateral relations and cooperation in a wide range of areas with the Azerbaijani leadership during his visit to Baku.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received a Norwegian delegation led by Minister Espen Barth Eide on Monday.

The Norwegian FM conveyed greetings of Crown Prince Haakon to the Azerbaijani leader.

Espen Barth Eide regarded long-term operation of Norwegian energy giant Statoil in Baku as a good example of bilateral cooperation.

He said the relationship between Azerbaijan and Norway had a solid foundation, noting that there were great opportunities to further develop partnership between the two countries.

President Aliyev, in turn, stressed the importance of the fact that Statoil's first regional office opened in Baku at the initial stage of Azerbaijan's cooperation with international oil companies.

The Azerbaijani president noted that efforts to develop relations between the two countries are successfully continuing.

The sides praised the relations between Azerbaijan and Norway in various fields, in particular the energy sector. They noted that there are good prospects for expansion of bilateral cooperation even more.

Prior to the meeting with President Aliyev, the Norwegian FM met with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov.

Mammadyarov told reporters after the meeting that the cooperation between Azerbaijan and Norway is at a high level.

According to him, Statoil, which has long been working in Azerbaijan, has made hefty investments in the country.

"We have conducted extensive consultations on cooperation in the economic and energy spheres at a meeting with Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide," Mammadyarov said.

He added that during the meeting regional issues and those relating to Afghanistan, Iran and Russia were also discussed.

"I have also informed my counterpart about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Mammadyarov said.

The discussions also covered the cooperation between the two countries within the UN.

The Norwegian foreign minister said that the cooperation with Azerbaijan will continue developing.

The minister said the main purpose of his visit to Azerbaijan was to give an impetus to the development of bilateral cooperation. He also stressed that Azerbaijan is one of the main suppliers of energy resources to Europe.

With regard to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh conflict the minister said that Norway supports the efforts of the mediating OSCE Minsk Group to resolve the conflict. "Our country considers the status quo unacceptable. We support the development of the region."

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a brutal war that concluded with the signing of a fragile cease-fire in 1994. Since then, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. Peace talks, brokered by Russia, France and the U.S., the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, have been mostly fruitless so far.