Ukraine to continue strategic partnership with Azerbaijan, seeks to make progress in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
By Sara Rajabova
Ukraine intends to continue its strategic partnership with Azerbaijan, Ukrainian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Alexander Mishchenko said at a press briefing on Wednesday in connection with the 21st Anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations.
"To date 125 documents have been signed between the two countries with about five documents of an interdepartmental character under consideration," Mishchenko said.
He said last year trade turnover amounted to over $900 million which reflects its growth compared to previous years.
It is planned to hold the next meeting of the intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation in the near future, Mishchenko added.
According to Mishchenko, a meeting of the Council of Presidents of Azerbaijan and Ukraine may be held this year which will take place in Kiev as planned.
This issue is under consideration by the heads of the state administrations of the two countries, he said. A meeting of the intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation will precede this event.
The energy sector remains as one of the priorities for cooperation between Ukraine and Azerbaijan, Mishchenko noted.
"Ukrainian companies plan to participate in projects during preparation for the first European Olympic Games to be held in Baku in 2015," Mishchenko said. "Participation issues will be considered at the next meeting of the intergovernmental commission."
According to Mishchenko, a new draft agreement on energy cooperation is under consideration and bilateral visits are planned.
"Preparations are underway for the visit to Azerbaijan in the first half of the year of OSCE chairperson-in-office, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara," Mishchenko said.
Ukraine seeks progress in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
Ukraine considers OSCE as a unique platform for dialogue between the parties of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Ukrainian Ambassador Mishchenko said.
"One of Ukraine's key priorities in OSCE is to facilitate the resolution of protracted regional conflicts," Mishchenko said.
He said Ukraine will seek to make progress in the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by moving forward the negotiations under the current format.
Mischenko noted that Ukrainian Foreign Minister, OSCE chairman Leonid Kozhara plans to discuss these issues during his visit to Azerbaijan in the first half of the year.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since the 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 has adopted four resolutions on Armenia's withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but Armenia has not followed them to this day.
Peace negotiations are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles, also known as Basic Principles. The document envisions a return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control, determining the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh, a corridor linking Armenia to the region, and the right of all internally displaced persons to return home.