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Azerbaijani FM issues notice of protest on the changes made to European Commission Presidentâ€™s speech which supports territorial integrity of Azerbaijan

20 January 2011 13:41 (UTC +04:00)

Baku- APA. Within the framework of his visit to Azerbaijan on January 13, 2011, President of the European Commission JosÃ© Manuel Barroso held a joint press conference with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. While speaking about the Armenia â€“ Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabagh, along with other issues, JosÃ© Manuel Barroso noted that he supported the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. JosÃ© Manuel Barroso said: â€œLet me also stress that European Union of course supports the principle of territorial integrity of its partners including Azerbaijan. We are fully backing the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Groupâ€¦ we stand right to provide further support if agreed by all partiesâ€. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry expresses deep concern upon the fact that European Commission President Jose Manuel Barrosoâ€™s speech to foreign and local media during his visit to Baku was not fully posted on the official website of the European Commission, and the quotes relating to the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan were removed and replaced with other statementsâ€, the press service of the Foreign ministry said, APA reports.

The FM says that this case can put into serious question the relations, mutual confidence and cooperation with the European Union.
The ministry once more reminds that, Azerbaijan was admitted to the UNO, OSCE and other international organizations within the boundaries as apart of the USSR and the territorial integrity and sovereignty is recognized by all the countries of the world (excluding the Republic of Armenia). The changes in the speech of Jose Manuel Barroso on the official website of the European Commission are assessed as a step which can negatively affect the image of the European Union as well as contradict to the â€œAgreement on Cooperation and Partnershipâ€ signed between the European Union and Azerbaijan in 1999.