Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Azerbaijan - British relations as well as Nagorno Karabakh conflict was mulled at a conference on "Shaping the Policy Agenda: British-Azerbaijani relations in the context of Europe" of the Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) under the President of Azerbaijan which was held in British capital London on July 4.

Azerbaijani joined the conference organized by the CSS jointly with the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies with a delegation which included head of the foreign relations department Novruz Mammadov, head of the Presidential Administration's Political Analysis and Information Provision Department Elnur Aslanov, Director of CSS Farhad Mammadov, Deputy Director of the CSS Gulshan Pashayeva and leading researcher of Foreign Policy Analysis Department Zaur Shiriyev.

Addressing the event Novruz Mammadov spoke about Azerbaijan's achievements in political, economic, cultural, social and other fields during its independence years and said that in the course of last decade, GDP growth has tripled in Azerbaijan, the poverty ratio dropped from 49 percent to 6 percent, and unemployment reduced to 5.2 percent.

The Azerbaijani economy already holds the 46th place in Global Competitiveness Index. Today's financial performance of Azerbaijan can be a good example for any country. Strategic currency reserves make 70 percent of GDP while the volume of external public debt constitutes 7 percent of GDP, he said.

According to Mammadov, currently, the Azerbaijani economy ensures 75 percent of the South Caucasus economy.

He also said that Azerbaijan is a secular, prosperous and hydrocarbons rich country with the high intellectual potential.

Azerbaijan is a secular Islamic country situated at the crossroads of East and West, North and South, Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Global ongoing processes already demonstrate that Azerbaijan as a country will further increase its importance in the decades to come, Mammadov said.

Touching on the Azerbaijan-Great Britain relations Mammadov said that the bilateral ties between the two countries are at the high level.

The political relations between Azerbaijan and the Great Britain have been at the apex since first days of Azerbaijan's independence.

"It is obvious that one of the largest contracts signed in the end of the last century was the Contract of the Century concluded between Azerbaijan and British Petroleum. As it goes at the bilateral level, our political collaboration is also satisfactory in the multilateral format. In this context, I would like to note in particular the cooperation of Azerbaijan which serves currently as a non-permanent member of UN Security Council with UN member-countries, and especially with the United Kingdom in ensuring international security," he said.

Mammadov also said that dozens of British companies participate as investors and contractors in various spheres of Azerbaijani economy such as construction, energy, trade, services and other fields.

"The brightest example of this co-operation is the BP - SOCAR collaboration in the energy field," he said.

Furthermore, Mammadov spoke about the reforms implemented in Azerbaijan and said that Azerbaijan is loyal to democratic principles.

"Azerbaijan is working on building the civil society and ensuring the democratic development," he said.

"More than 50 political parties have the opportunity to participate in the political life of the country through representation in the legislative and local municipal bodies," Mammadov said. "Azerbaijan has managed to build an ideal and tolerant society which can be exemplary for all world countries and even for Europe."

Meanwhile, Mammadov said that reports of some organizations and governmental institutions allege the violation of democracy and human rights in Azerbaijan. However, nothing is said about the violation of all rights of the refugees and IDPs.

"We take it normal to be criticized. Only a fair criticism can serve the co-operation and allow overcoming various threats and challenges. Nevertheless, we think that the criticism should not be biased and unfair," he said.

"Human rights and democracy are kept simply in the context of authorities and opposition. However, what about the rights of refugees and IDPs or do they not deserve the protection?"

"The position voted in the European Parliament with the participation of 15-20 members is presented as the resolution of the Parliament with total number of 754 members," Mammadov said. "As a result, the right of absolute majority of members of the European Parliament is misused."

"This contradicts the principles of democracy. The statistics show that the number of critical reports about Azerbaijan, which appeared in the British press within 3 months in relation to the criminal actions of two young Azerbaijanis that present themselves as bloggers, is more than the general number of articles written about the Karabakh problem in last 20 years," Mammadov said.

Mammadov also went on to say that choosing the pathway of close cooperation and integration with Europe since first years of independence Azerbaijan has managed to implement large projects of strategic importance and become the political, economic, cultural, energy and transportation bridge between East and West by addressing all challenges and facing firmly strong pressure.

"Taking this into account, it is hard to accept the attitude of West to Azerbaijan as a fair, well thought and substantiated position from political, economic, cultural, religious, geopolitical and other points of view," he said.

The cooperation of Azerbaijan with the European Union and NATO should be noted in particular, Mammadov said.

According to him, it has contributed to peacekeeping operations in Kosovo and Iraq within international coalition.

Azerbaijan participates in the processes in Afghanistan both by its military contingent and other means through providing training and assistance in various projects, he said.

"Today, more than one third of goods delivered to Afghanistan passes through Azerbaijan," Mammadov said.

"Global ongoing processes already demonstrate that Azerbaijan as a country will further increase its importance in the decades to come," Mammadov said.

Touching on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict Novruz Mammadov said that the continuation of processes in such a way fades hopes for peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict reposed on the peaceful solution of the conflict.

Mammadov believes that due to the fact that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries and their representatives deal directly with the conflict resolution, the discussion of this issue in other frameworks is impossible.

"Unfortunately, representatives of co-chairing countries dealing with the conflict settlement have not obtained any progress so far," Mammadov said. "Additionally, the co-chairs' statements do not refer to international law and the four UN Security Council resolutions on the conflict. This raises a concern with the course of discussions."

He went on to say that twenty percent of the Azerbaijani territory - Nagorno Karabakh and seven surrounding regions - is under occupation for more than 20 years.

"The ethnic cleansing policy was conducted in the territories of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia. Over one million of people have become refugees and IDPs. Steps that were taken in over 20 years to solve the conflict do not yield any result," Mammadov said.

According to Mammadov, despite the four resolutions of the UN Security Council on the conflict settlement and the fair position taken by other international organizations and institutions, the situation has not changed while there is still a threat of war.

Addressing the conference Farhad Mammadov said that Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains the most serious and long-standing conflict in the post-Soviet area.

"Azerbaijan perceives this conflict as threat to its territorial integrity and sovereign independence," Mammadov added.

According to Mammadov, Azerbaijan's occupied territories have become a hub of drug trafficking, illegal activities and even terrorist activities. The occupied territories of Azerbaijan are used for training of terrorists.

He went on to say that the illegal trade of arms with small and large calibers causes problems in the conflict resolution. The beneficiaries of the arms deals don't want to lose this source of income as well as in the case with other illegal activities.

According to CSS director, the Military Doctrine of Azerbaijan adopted in 2010 emphasizes that the occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and regions to it by Armenia, which remain temporarily out of the control of Azerbaijan's government bodies, damages not only national security, but also has a serious negative impact on regional security.

"Armenia has violated international agreements and it may lead to terrible consequences," Mammadov emphasized.

Azerbaijan's military budget has increased more than $3.7 billion this year, which exceeds Armenia's overall state budget, he noted.

Mammadov also said that the occupation of the Azerbaijani territories by Armenia is a serious threat for the environmental security of Caucasus as well.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that had caused a lengthy war in the early 1990s. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenia's withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.