Azerbaijan FM met with UN Secretary General in New York

Baku. 2 June. REPORT.AZ/ Minister of foreign affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov met with the Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres, within his visit to New York, Report was told by AZerbaijan FM press-service.

At the meeting the Minister E. Mammadyarov conveyed sincere greetings of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan H.E.Mr. Ilham Aliyev to António Guterres. Recalling with pleasure his meetings with President Ilham Aliyev, A.Guterres asked Minister Mammadyarov to extend his greetings and best wishes to the head of state. The Secretary General of the United Nations congratulated the minister on the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.

The Secretary-General highly appreciated the cooperation between the United Nations and Azerbaijan, particularly highlighted the support and contribution of Azerbaijan for the Sustainable Development Goals and the promotion of intercultural dialogue, and its initiatives, including the Baku Process.

Minister E. Mammadyarov noted that Azerbaijan highly appreciates support of the UN and its specialized institutions to Azerbaijan since the beginning of its independence, in particular provided humanitarian aid and assistance for the internally displaced persons resulting from the aggression of Armenia.

Highlighting the economic and social reforms in our country, the development of the non-oil sector, the large-scale and trans-regional transport and energy projects implemented with the initiative and direct involvement of Azerbaijan, as well as, East-West, North-South, South-West routes and the Southern Gas Project, the Minister E. Mammadyarov briefed on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals at the national level.

He noted that Azerbaijan supports Secretary‑General's reform efforts of the UN system and the growing role of the United Nations in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and stressed the importance to fulfill commitments enshrined in the UN Charter by all member-states.

Touching upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, E. Mammadyarov noted that Armenia used force against Azerbaijan and continue to occupy its territories by violating international law. He stressed that the conflict poses a serious threat to regional peace and comprehensive development of the region. He emphasized the importance of increasing international efforts to ensure the withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and the return of Azerbaijani IDPs to their homelands, stressing that the relevant resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council are the basis for the resolution of the conflict.

The minister E. Mammadyarov also noted that Azerbaijan highly appreciates the UN Secretary-General's statements on a regular basis to support for substantive talks on the settlement of the conflict.

During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the issues of mutual interest and the UN agenda.