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Azerbaijan expected to chair GUAM summit

15 April 2011 07:22 (UTC +04:00)

Tbilisi. Nizami Mammadzadeh â€“ APA. â€œThe summit of GUAM leaders would be held under the chairmanship of Azerbaijan next yearâ€, said GUAM Secretary General Valery Chichelashvili in his interview to APA bureau in Georgia.

Attending the meeting of GUAM tourism ministers in Tbilisi, the Secretary General said that establishing of peacekeeping forces was not on GUAMâ€™s agenda. It has different reasons: â€œMoldova states that according to its Constitution Moldova is a neutral country and thatâ€™s why it canâ€™t participate in any military force. GUAM has a principle â€“ to work in quartet. If any country doesnâ€™t take interest in the project, we donâ€™t put it on agenda. Therefore peacekeeping forces are not on our agendaâ€.

The Secretary General also answered the question about the schedule of GUAM summit. â€œMoldova is chairing GUAM now. The country has not elected its president yet. Due to the development of situation in this country, if the presidential elections take place, I hope that the newly-elected president will consider the opportunities of holding the summit. I know exactly that GUAMâ€™s main institution â€“ the Council of Ministers will hold three meetings this year. Regarding the summit, I would say that if it doesnâ€™t take place during the Moldovaâ€™s chairmanship, I hope Azerbaijan will chair the summit next yearâ€.