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President Ilham Aliyev: â€œAzerbaijanâ€™s EU membership will depend on European Unionâ€

27 November 2008 09:37 (UTC +04:00)

Rome-APA. â€œAzerbaijanâ€™s EU membership will depend on Europe, as well as European Unionâ€, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said while giving an interview to Italian Rai International TV Channel, APA reports.
The Head of State added that relations between Azerbaijan and EU were at high level and Neighborhood program with EU had been carried out for two years.
â€œWe have strong partners in energy sector. I am sure that reforms on criterions of our life, as well as political system and economic freedom, which we carried out, will coincide with EU criterions during the next five years. If EU wants to see us as coordinated, integrated and neighboring country, we will agree to any choice of it. We cannot demand anything from EUâ€, he said.
The President stated that EU was a family and the family had its own rules.
â€œThe family has right to invite or not to invite anybody here. If we say that we want rapid integration at present, it will not cause to big changes. We should try. Reforms that we carry out in Azerbaijan serve to strengthen the country, establish strong political system, free economy, market economy, social life and all principles of EU on the agenda. The time will show everythingâ€, he said.