Azernews.Az

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has cited progress in the implementation of energy projects jointly with Azerbaijan.
"I am satisfied with the course of these projects and how they are assuming a practical shape," he said during broad talks in Baku on Monday.
Yushchenko positively assessed the overall state of bilateral relations, in particular, their successful development in a number of areas.
President Ilham Aliyev, for his part, highlighted the intense contacts between the two countries.
"The contacts are entering a new qualitative level," he said, adding that Azerbaijan and Ukraine succeed in coordinating all outstanding issues in line with the national interests of both states.
Aliyev told a joint press conference after the talks that issues of energy cooperation had been discussed in detail. He said it was necessary to pave the way for "serious decisions in the energy sphere" prior to the fourth energy summit due in Baku.
The president said Azerbaijan would soon start contributing oil for the Odessa-Brody-Plotsk-Gdansk pipeline. The conduit will be filled with oil to test the project. Major progress has been achieved in implementing the project and a feasibility study is in the making to determine its overall commercial viability, Aliyev said.
"After all the technical issues are agreed and a route for the transportation of Caspian oil to the Black Sea region determined, we will begin to take first steps," the head of state said.
The 667-km Odessa-Brody pipe that will take Azerbaijan's oil to Europe originates in Ukraine and is to be extended to the Polish towns of Plotsk and Gdansk. The project, backed by the European Union, will foster a new market for Azeri oil.
Yushchenko said all the agreements on the exports of Caspian crude to the EU countries via the pipeline were being enforced.
Yushchenko went on to say that the Ukrainian-Azerbaijani trade turnover is to reach $1 billion in the next year and a half. "This indicates the stability of our relations and their special status."
The Ukrainian leader said military cooperation was discussed during the high-level talks as well. "All the projects in this field are proceeding normally," he said.
The talks were attended by Ukraine's ministers of foreign affairs, culture and tourism, as well as general director of the UkrSpetsExport state concern.
The broad discussions were preceded by a one-on-one meeting of the Azerbaijani and Ukrainian leaders at the President's Palace.
As part of President Yushchenko's visit, a monument to the great Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko was unveiled in Baku on the same day. In his remarks at the ceremony, Yushchenko termed the development as a sign of respect for his people. "This brings us closer," he added.
The two presidents further attended the opening of the Days of Ukrainian Culture in Azerbaijan, which will last till July 2.
Yushchenko also toured the area allocated for a new building of the Ukrainian embassy.
Despite the two countries' turning into strategic partners since gaining independence, President Yushchenko's visit is not interpreted unilaterally. The head of local East-West Research Center, Arastun Orujlu, says it is not accidental that the Ukrainian leader is paying it shortly before Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's official visit to Azerbaijan due early in July.
"Moscow's policy is aimed at making Azerbaijan Russia's partner not only in terms of politics but also economics," the analyst said. "Therefore, the Ukrainian president has probably come here with concrete messages. In a way, Yushchenko is representing the West in this situation."
Experts say that if Azerbaijan leans toward Russia, this, along with posing a major threat to Ukrainian and Western interests, would contradict those of the regional group GUAM. This threat has always been considered real.
Armenia's turning its back on its powerful supporter Russia and Georgia's doing so with regard to the West at the time of their choosing does not appear likely. As for Azerbaijan, it is keeping its options open, which is raising concerns in the West. The concerns were somewhat amplified by Russian giant Gazprom's recent announcement that it plans to buy all of the natural gas exported by Azerbaijan.