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BAKU, BERLIN IN ENERGY TALKS
BakuSun, February 23, 2007
BAKU - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier met Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Baku on 19 February.
Steinmeier arrived in the Azerbaijani capital the day before, as part of his tour of the South Caucasus region, in an effort to explore the possibilities of reducing Germany's energy dependence on Russia.
Meeting President Ilham Aliyev in his office, the German minister expressed the hope that his country's relations with Azerbaijan have entered a new phase, following Aliyev's recent visit to Germany, the state-owned Azertaj news agency reported.
President Aliyev also said that his visit to Germany marked "a new level of relations" between the two countries.
Azerbaijan's energy cooperation with the European Union, which is currently presided over by Germany, was also a central issue during Steinmeier's meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart Mammadyarov.
Following the meeting, Mammadyarov said that the sides discussed "a broad range of issues"
The issues included energy cooperation, regional problems, the future of Azerbaijan's relations with the EU and the troubling Nagorno-Karabakh problem between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Mammadyarov said that he had briefed Steinmeier about Azerbaijan's stance on the problem.
Azerbaijan, offers broad autonomy to ethnic Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh, which has been under Armenian occupation since the signing of a cease-fire agreement in 1994. But the ethnic Armenians demand independence or unification with Armenia.
The Azerbaijani and German foreign ministers also discussed a program to hold a Year of Azerbaijani Culture in Germany in 2008, Mammadyarov said.
For Azerbaijan, Germany is a "very important" country in view of its presidency of the EU, Mammadyarov said.
The German foreign minister called the discussions "productive", Turan news agency reported. He said that the EU is interested in cooperation with energy-exporting countries.
"I hope that our energy cooperation will expand day by day. Not only Germany, but the EU as a whole is interested in this," Turan quoted Steinmeier as saying.
Azerbaijan's Mammadyarov also commented on the standoff over neighbouring Iran's controversial nuclear program. He called for a diplomatic solution to the problem.
"Azerbaijan's position is that all the questions raised in connection with Iran's nuclear program must be solved only by diplomatic means," Mammadyarov told reporters, adding that it should be done through the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Azerbaijan birders Iran, where ethnic Azeris make up the country's largest minority.
Iran's government is wary of the ethnic Azeris, who are concentrated in the northern areas near Azerbaijan. Azerbaijanis for their part are concerned about Iranian influence in their former Soviet republic, which has cordial ties with Washington and contributes the US-led coalition in Iraq.
In December, the UN Security Council imposed sanctions on Iran for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment - which can lead to the production of nuclear weapons - and warned that it would adopt further nonmilitary sanctions if Tehran refuses to comply.
Iran says its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes, while the US and some of its allies fear the Islamic country is trying to build a nuclear bomb.
German Foreign Minister Steinmeier later traveled to Georgia, where he said the unresolved status of Georgia's two breakaway regions should not serve as an obstacle for the country's aspirations to join NATO.
The two regions - South Osetia and Abkhazia - have had de-facto independence and Russia's backing since breaking away from central government during wars in the 1990s. Georgia's president has vowed to bring the two back under government control.
"NATO is of course interested in not having new members bring to the alliance their unresolved internal problems", Steinmeier said in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. But, he said, "I think that the uncompleted process of resolving the conflicts will not be an obstacle on Georgia's path to NATO membership".
OSCE BAKU OFFICE TO CONTINUE COOPERATION WITH AZERBAIJAN GOVERNMENT
PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN MEETS CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY
BAKU HOSTS AZERI-MOLDOVAN BUSINESS FORUM
MOLDOVA, AZERBAIJAN TO SET UP JOINT VENTURES TO PROCESS AGRI-FOOD PRODUCTS
AZERBAIJAN LOOKS WESTWARD
NEW OFFICE BUILDING OF TURKISH EMBASSY INAUGURATED IN BAKU
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March 2007,
Issue No. 47
Previous Issues
UNDP Azerbaijan Website
Bulletin Home Page
NOVRUZ RINGING THE DOORBELL
Azernews, March 20, 2007
Aliyev congratulates nation on historic date
The Azerbaijani people celebrated national holidays in a rather low-key way during the Soviet Union times. However, after they asserted sovereignty and established an independent state upon the Soviet collapse in 1991, March 20-21 - the Novruz Bayrami (Holiday) marking the advent of spring - were officially announced holidays. President Ilham Aliyev has lately issued a decree announcing the celebration of the holiday for five days for the first time in the republic's history. Under the decision, the people of Azerbaijan will celebrate the date for a full week starting this year.
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