Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijan and Belarus have discussed prospects for bilateral cooperation.

Colonel-General Elchin Guliyev, the head of the State Border Service of Azerbaijan and commander of the frontier troops and Leonid Maltsev, the head of the State Border Committee of Belarus met on August 5 to discuss issues such as border security, migration management, activity at checkpoints, the continuation of exchange in experiences, and other issues of mutual interest, the State Border Service reported.

The Belarusian delegation was briefed on the operational situation and the threats to Azerbaijan’s state border.

The occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory and part of the state borders as a result of Armenian aggression was pointed out in the meeting.

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, causing a lengthy war in the early 1990s.

The sides also highlighted the importance of strengthening border security and the creation of a modern educational and training system, and discussed successes achieved in these areas.

Azerbaijan’s Premier Artur Rasizade also met with the Belarusian official.

They hailed the role of heads of state in expanding mutual cooperation between Azerbaijan and Belarus. They also noted the positive results of joint measures toward developing cooperation between the state border services of Azerbaijan and Belarus.

Rasizade stressed the necessity of exchanging experience between state border authorities through joint projects.

They also touched upon the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and noted that the only way to settle the dispute was on the basis of international legal norms and Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity.

Azerbaijan’s chief of the State Border Service, Guliyev, was also present at the meeting.

Azerbaijan and Belarus relations date back many years ago. Both countries were part of the Russian Empire until 1918, and before gaining independence in 1991, they were part of the Soviet Union.

Diplomatic relations between the two republics was established in 1993, but two countries started to draw closer to one another in past decade. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev paid a visit to Belarus on October 17-18, 2006, which was the first high-level visit of Azerbaijan to the country. During the visit, nine bilateral documents were signed.

Currently the two countries enjoy deep ties in various fields and closely cooperate within international organizations. Belarus opened an embassy in Azerbaijan in February 2006, while Azerbaijan opened its embassy in Belarus in August of that same year.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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