Aliyev: “We want to turn the page and establish relations with neighbouring Armenia"
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan wants to "turn the page and establish relations with neighbouring Armenia."
Accepting the credentials of the newly appointed head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, Peter Michalko, he said he wanted to see the EU participate in the Azerbaijan-Armenia talks.
"We are ready to start negotiations on a peace agreement, delimitation, opening of communications. This process has begun partially. But I think that if the European Union is actively involved - I see such a desire - it can help us in many areas. In general, the situation in the South Caucasus can take on a completely new scale, which has not happened in 30 years. This can be a very important factor of stability, predictability and peace" Aliyev flagged.
President Aliyev added that Azerbaijan could be a supplier to many other EU members on the Southern Gas Corridor project.
He said he was "very satisfied" that the European Commission attaches great importance to Azerbaijan's transport sector.
"This can be a very promising area not only in terms of economic and transport cooperation but also in terms of stability and security in the region as a whole, because cooperation unites countries, makes them interdependent, they can share benefits. It minimises the risk of any misunderstanding. You probably know that we have completed all the important elements of the transport infrastructure network in Azerbaijan, and we are ready, we are already using this potential" president added.
Azerbaijan has been working on an agreement with the European Union for some time. It is claimed that the parties did not agree on some economic issues.
A few months ago, the European Union provided billions of euros in aid to Armenia and Georgia.
Ilham Aliyev called it "unfair" that the European Union allocated more than 2 billion euros to Armenia and Georgia but did not allocate anything to Azerbaijan. He said that the reason for giving these funds was the war, and the country that suffered the most from the war was Azerbaijan.
The newly appointed head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, Petro Michalko, said they were "looking forward" to Azerbaijan's active participation and contribution to the preparations for the Eastern Partnership Summit.
"We are also ready to play a role in the confidence-building and peace-building process in addition to the OSCE Minsk Group. If the parties are interested, we offer to share our experience in areas such as delimitation and demarcation of borders," he concluded.
