Baku. Malahat Najafova – APA. The European Parliament’s biased and unfounded resolution on Azerbaijan, dated September 15, was one of the remarkable events of 2015, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said in an interview to local media on the outcomes of 2015.
Mammadyarov said the document, which contains slanderous claims against Azerbaijan, was hastily adopted by the efforts of some malevolent forces.
“Azerbaijan is not interested in progress of such developments. Instead, as in previous years, Azerbaijan attached great importance to relations with the EU in 2015 and contributed to the development of cooperation between the sides through practical steps,” he noted.
According to the FM, the Joint Declaration of the 4th Eastern Partnership Riga summit on May 21-22 for the first time affirmed the EU’s commitments to the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of all its partners.
“President of the European Council Donald Tusk visited Azerbaijan on 21-22 July 2015. At the meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, prospects of development of bilateral relations were discussed. Donald Tusk once again confirmed the importance of relations in the field of energy with Azerbaijan, the reliable and strategic partner of the European Union”, he added.
The minister recalled that Azerbaijan submitted to the EU a draft agreement on strategic partnership to develop equal relations based on mutual interests.
Mammadyarov also said that there is a great potential for cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU in the energy and non-oil sectors, as well as in the spheres of transport, education, culture, etc. “Azerbaijan hopes mutual beneficial cooperation between the two sides will be developed through joint efforts.”
The minister touched upon relations between Azerbaijan and the World Trade Organization (WTO), saying Azerbaijan’s appeal for WTO membership was presented to the organization’s secretariat on 23 June 1997.
“Under the order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan, the commission on preparations for Azerbaijan’s WTO membership was created in order to accelerate the process of becoming a WTO member. Multilateral negotiations – key to the country’s WTO membership – are ongoing. Moreover, Azerbaijan is conducting bilateral negotiations with 19 states in the process of WTO membership. The negotiations cover Azerbaijan’s access to the goods and service market and necessary measures are being taken for the protection of especially important areas. By this means, the number of protocols Azerbaijan has signed for completion of bilateral negotiations as part of the process of WTO membership becomes five,” he said.
According to the minister, member countries have their own demands.
“These proposals are often dissatisfying to us. What we are trying to achieve is to present the most acceptable terms for Azerbaijan. Time does not matter to us. What really matters is that the terms should not harm our country, especially its non-oil sector. Our goal in the first place is diversification of economy and then completion of the membership issue,” Mammadyarov stressed.
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