Minister: Armenia's democratic development will transfer it into substantial talks with Azerbaijan

"Today, Azerbaijan enjoys very good, somewhere strategic relations with almost all of its neighbors. Relations with the neighbors are the priority," Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at the Eastern Partnership Foreign Ministers´ Meeting.

Report informs that the minister said Azerbaijan has proved itself as a reliable partner in the region, just as it did so in its relations with the EU. "Unfortunately, the EU’s and Azerbaijan’s neighbourhoods have things to get improved. Some regional perspectives such as regional connectivity, trade projects, and few other initiatives remain a hostage to unresolved conflicts. An ongoing occupation by Armenia of the territory of Azerbaijan prevents us from taking the whole region to another level of cooperation. We need to unlock a whole potential of the region. If we are to move together with EaP, so as to help the EU realize its neighbourhood policy obejctives, the issues of resolution of conflicts and de-occupation must be addressed. As the European Parliament resolution of October 2013 on the European Neighborhood Policy condemned that, EU’s one partner country cannot occupy the territories of its another partner country. So, this is not only the UNSC, the UN Charter or OSCE documents – this is EU’s legislative body calling things with its own names. We believe that the future and success of EaP depends on maintaining security and stability in the region."

"Therefore, a full support and compliance by all EaP stakeholders, including the EU and its member states, to the principles of territorial integrity and inviolability of internationally recognized borders should be preserved and streamlined in all documents on all levels and in all frameworks.

"In the end let me stress that the democratic development of Armenia will transfer it into following of substantial talks with Azerbaijan, which means that brutally ethnically cleansed Azerbaijanis would manage to return back to the places of their origin."