Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev visited Belgium on January 15 to hold talks with NATO Secretary General Andres Fogh Rasmussen on bilateral ties.

During the one-day visit, the two sides discussed expansion of ties. NATO secretary general praised Azerbaijan's assistance to the organization's peacemaking operations in Afghanistan by providing it with transit lines and financial supports.

President Aliyev also hailed the current bilateral relations, saying that the relations are expanding in various fields. He also emphasized that Azerbaijan has played an important role in ensuring Europe's energy security.

Following their meeting in Brussels, President Aliyev and the NATO Secretary General held a joint press conference.

Speaking at the conference, Rasmussen said Azerbaijan is a country of pivotal importance for Europe's energy security as wells as peace and stability of the Caucasus.

"Azerbaijan is also a valuable and important partner for NATO. We appreciate the steadfast support provided by your troops in Afghanistan. We also appreciate the political support to NATO operations, through over-flight and transit lines. And we are grateful for the generous contributions you are making to the training of the Afghan security forces," he noted.

Rasmussen went on to say that he strongly welcomes Azerbaijan's decision to continue supporting Afghanistan in the new mission that NATO is planning to train, advice and assist the Afghan security forces after 2014.

"This shows your clear commitment to contributing to Euro-Atlantic security," he stressed.

The Secretary General also noted continuing reform is also of importance to Azerbaijan, and NATO will continue to assist Azerbaijan in this regard.

"I believe we can deepen our dialogue and cooperation, across the spectrum of our partnership," he added. "This month we mark the Twentieth anniversary of our Partnership for Peace program. Our Partnership for Peace is founded on a commitment to democratic values and principles. Azerbaijan has been a staunch member of the program since its beginning."

He also underlined that Azerbaijan and NATO have a strong framework for dialogue and cooperation.

"And today [January 15] we have agreed that we will continue to build a solid and long-term partnership," he said.

President Aliyev, in turn, said during the 20 years of membership of the Partnership of Peace program, relations between Azerbaijan and NATO have elevated to the level of strategic cooperation.

President Aliyev said they continued discussions on a broad range of issues, as well as issues related to our participation in ISAF. "We will remain committed to the security of Afghanistan in the post-2014 period. Today almost 40 percent of non-lethal cargo to Afghanistan goes through the territory of Azerbaijan, and the route through Azerbaijan is the most reliable and safe," President Aliyev said.

He went on to say that Azerbaijan will continue its efforts to promote peace and security in the region.

President Aliyev also said Azerbaijan cooperates with NATO on counter-terrorism, and the country is grateful to the organization for supporting the reforms of its armed forces, as they are being transformed to NATO standards.

"Also, with the assistance of NATO, including financial assistance, Azerbaijan implements the de-mining projects in the country," the president noted.

The two sides also discussed the situation in the Southern Caucasus.

"The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is a major threat to the stability and security of the region. We need to find the immediate resolution to the conflict, based on the international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions," he stressed.

The Head of Azerbaijan state said Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan, and it is recognized as one by the whole world.

President Aliyev noted that it has been a long time since the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict started and a long time since Azerbaijani lands have been under occupation in 20 years.

"The resolutions of the UN Security Council demanding unconditional, immediate withdrawal of Armenian troops from our territory are not implemented by Armenia. This is a brutal violation of international law," the Azerbaijani president said.

President Aliyev went on to note that his last meeting with the Armenian president was more optimistic than the previous one, and there was a long period of stagnation in the negotiation process, because of unwillingness of Armenia to negotiate.

"Still, we have doubts, whether the Armenian side is sincere in the process of negotiations, or they just want to continue to keep the status quo," the Azerbaijani president said.

The Minsk Group countries' presidents made it clear that the status quo is unacceptable.

"We consider it as a serious message to Armenia, because in order to change the status quo, they need to start de-occupation of our territories. We gave instructions to our foreign ministers, they have met several times since our meeting in Vienna, and hopefully they will meet later this month or next month. And we will see to what degree Armenia is sincere, and we are hopeful that they become interested in solving the current problems.

President Aliyev further said that less than a month ago Azerbaijan signed an agreement on Shah Deniz-2 project, which is considered to be the "project of the 21st century".

"The construction of the transportation infrastructure to bring Azerbaijani gas to Europe will start soon and Azerbaijan will implement the project on time. That will be the project of energy diversification, energy security, energy cooperation and it will be the biggest infrastructure project of Europe. This project needs additional coordination of the participating countries and companies," President Aliyev stressed.

"So, cooperation between NATO and Azerbaijan successfully continues," he said.

"Today, we discussed the future prospects of this cooperation, and how we can deepen our cooperation, to find new forms for our relationship in the future. We also want to be a close and reliable partner of NATO in the future. I am sure that will be the case," President Aliyev added.

Answering to a journalist's questions, the head of Azerbaijani state said there are no so- called political prisoners in Azerbaijan.

"This is also confirmed by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Last December there was a broad discussion in the Council of Europe about this and the resolution, which was initiated by some Assembly members with respect to political prisoners in Azerbaijan failed to get enough vote," President Aliyev said.

"A majority of members did not support the resolution. This means that what I have said last time here in European Commission, that there are no political prisoners in Azerbaijan is also confirmed by one of the most important institutions of Europe and the world. Azerbaijan has been the member of the Council of Europe for more than 10 years, and a member of European Court of Human Rights. If somebody is not treated in a fair way, there is always a chance to apply to European Court, and we are complying with the decisions of that court," he noted.

The Azerbaijani president went on to add that there are no definitions of political prisoners.

"We think that the definition of a political prisoner, if adopted by European Parliament, the Council of Europe, would be a good idea. Then it would be possible to say who is a political prisoner, and who is not," President Aliyev added.

Later, President Aliyev met the permanent representatives of the NATO member countries in Brussels.

Addressing the meeting, Rasmussen said the relations between Azerbaijan and NATO are successfully developing and President Aliyev's current visit made a significant contribution to the mutual ties.

Speaking at the meeting President Aliyev noted that the relations between Azerbaijan and NATO have a good history. He said the cooperation is successfully developing and currently, the Azerbaijani militaries actively participate in the peacemaking operations in Afghanistan.

Aliyev went on to say that in recent years Azerbaijan has been developing and achieved significant successes in the economic sphere. "It also makes a significant contribution to the energy security of Europe," he said.

President Aliyev also briefed the participants of the meeting on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

As part of the visit, President Aliyev received European Union's (EU) Special Representative for the South Caucasus Philippe Lefort to exchange views on development of the Azerbaijan-EU relations.