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Day.Az interview with the state secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania Stejarel Olaru
- Mr. Olaru, how would you describe the current state
of relations between Romania
and Azerbaijan?
I consider that Romania and Azerbaijan
have excellent relations, driven by the common interest of strengthening the
cooperation in all the sectors - political, economic, and cultural. The
relations between our two countries have been gaining consistence over the last
years, after they have been raised to the status of a strategic partnership. And
Azerbaijan is the only
country in the region to which Romania
is linked at this level. It is equally a token of appreciation for the
relations of friendship between our countries and a sign of the mutual
interests in developing economic dynamic ties, highlighting also the trust
towards Azerbaijan
as a valuable partner of NATO and the EU.
In 2009,
President Ilham Aliyev signed in Bucharest the
Declaration regarding the establishment of a strategic partnership between Romania and Azerbaijan. The document identifies
key sectors such as political dialogue, energy cooperation, economic ties and
investing opportunities, security cooperation, cultural projects and
cooperation within international organizations. This framework gives Baku and Bucharest
ample and flexible possibility of cooperation on a wide range of bilateral and
regional issues.
In my opinion, a strategic partnership is a challenge in a globalized world. I
believe Azerbaijan will find
in Romania
many investment possibilities and partners in taking the relationship to the
next level. We are focusing on strengthening the competitiveness of our
industrial sectors (heavy machines, chemical industry) and we are welcoming
foreign investments and participation in these branches.
Even if our excellent political relations are not yet backed by strong economic
ties, we are working on identifying opportunities for developing the economic
cooperation between Romania
and Azerbaijan.
The next level of our relationship, the one which could prove to be very
dynamic and fruitful, is the economic dimension and we can accomplish many things
together. Serious bilateral economic projects are still missing and we should
address this question as soon as possible.
- How would you estimate Azerbaijan’s
policy in the region?
Azerbaijan’s
location is both a challenge and an advantage. A quick look at the map of the
South Caucasus and we can see that this region is a natural connector between
Europe and Asia. This makes Azerbaijan a
significant trade and energy hub, a point where resources meet business, a
region where states take their major foreign and energy policy decisions, too. Azerbaijan is a
country with which states and international organizations are interested in
working with. In addition to that, you have regional neighbors such as Turkey and Russia
and actors such as the United
States, the European Union and NATO - all of
them interested in the developments in this region.
That is the starting point for your foreign policy. The Azeri leadership takes
into account all these factors and several others in its effort to design and
implement a foreign policy with practical solutions. To use a metaphor, I am
sure it is not very easy to be in Azerbaijan’s place, but I can be
equally sure this must be a rewarding position, too.
I think Azerbaijan
has a balanced and pragmatic foreign policy, keeping open as many doors as
possible and interacting on many levels. That means Azerbaijan will probably be
interested to continue working with the European Union and with European
partners. It will continue to work with Russian and the United States, to maintain special ties with Turkey, to discuss with Iran or Israel. From this interesting
enumeration, anyone can understand the span of Azeri foreign policy, which has
to deal with numerous issues and stakes.
- Would be better to hear your opinion about
Azerbaijan’s role in the
energy security of Europe?
Europe is an energy-consuming continent, with
an expanding market and with a high degree of modernization and technology
diversity. To sustain such a necessary energy intake, Europe
must address the question of its energy sources. Azerbaijan holds promise to be a
very reliable source of energy, an energy pillar for the EU. If other energy
options are not so secure, I believe Azerbaijan
is a solid partner for Europe and I see
positive evolutions in the future, in this field. Furthermore, Azerbaijan is not far from the EU’s Eastern
border (Romania)
and it has been included in the EU’s plans for further cooperation.
- How do you imagine European integration
prospects of Azerbaijan?
The Eastern Partnership is an EU important instrument for supporting the
efforts of the partner countries (R. Moldova, Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia,
and Ukraine)
to connect to the European identity and values. Since 2008, the Eastern
Partnership (EaP) of the European Union underlines the readiness of the EU to
deepen cooperation with its partners from its Eastern neighborhood. Its end
results are the political association and economic integration with the EU, to
a degree that corresponds to the individual ambition of each partner state. It
builds considerably on the principle of differentiation, where the main input
is provided by the pace and commitment to reforms by each partner state. We
welcomed resuming the negotiation with Azerbaijan on the Association
Agreement and the signature of the EU-Azerbaijan Agreements on Readmission and
Visa Facilitation. All these steps are meant to give concrete proof of the EU
commitment and support towards the EaP partner countries.
Furthermore, in the case of Azerbaijan,
figures speak for themselves for the nature of this relationship. The EU is the
main trade partner of Azerbaijan,
with European investments in the oil and gas sector. Therefore, most likely,
the future relation and contractual framework of the EU-Azerbaijan relations
will be shaped around those priorities of cooperation shared by both partners.
- By the way, would like to touch upon the
topic on eurointegration of the another member of the "Eastern
partnership" - Moldova.
Not long ago, Moldovan government announced that joining Romania will facilitate Moldova's integration to EU. Do you
believe that Romania and Moldova could one
day be a common state?
The Republic of Moldova
is a topic raising great interest and emotion in Romania. There is a great diversity
of public views on the matter, depending on the way you choose to approach it. Historically,
the current territory of the Republic
of Moldova had once been part of Romania. Spiritually
- we belong to the same culture, we share the same language and traditions. The
people-to-people contacts, including the family ties, are the strongest we have
with any other country.
Politically, Romania has
been the first country to recognize the independence of the Republic of Moldova,
in August 1991. Since then, the relations with the Republic of Moldova
have been a major priority for all consecutive Romanian Governments. Our policy
towards Chisinau has always been guided by the same principle: to assist in any
way possible to bringing the Republic
of Moldova back into Europe.
This is, for the present time, our joint objective, in application of the
Strategic Partnership for the European integration of the Republic of Moldova,
set up between our countries in 2010.
We have been the strongest, most vocal supporters of the authorities in
Chisinau in their European integration process and we are of course delighted
with the progress made in this respect. This has been acknowledged at the
Eastern Partnership Summit in November 2013, when the EU-Republic of Moldova
Association Agreement was initialled. We will continue to do our best in
assisting our partners in Chisinau on their journey towards the ultimate goal –
the European integration.
I can tell
you there is a huge desire of younger generations in the Republic of Moldova
that their country joins the EU. In my capacity of secretary of state, in
charge with the policies for the Romanians abroad, I had the chance to meet
many young Romanians all over the globe. I can tell you that youngsters in the Republic of Moldova, which are the future elites of
the country, are keenly interested in the European future of their country. They
are informed, connected, willing to adjust and to make the necessary changes in
their lives, so that they can be once again part of the democratic and
prosperous European family.
- Would like to return to Azerbaijan and
talk on its major problem - Karabakh problem. What role, to your mind, can Europeans
play in settling the Karabakh problem?
I think Europe has a saying in this matter.
The Minsk Group set up at the level of the Organization for Security in
Cooperation in Europe has been entrusted with
facilitating efforts aiming at finding a peaceful solution to the Karabakh
problem. This is not an easy issue to solve out, but European states have been
involved in this process. Germany,
Italy, Sweden, Finland
and Turkey
are among the members of the Minsk Group. Some of these states have a special
interest in the development of the Eastern Partnership and they would like to
see that the EU’s Eastern neighborhood has as few unsettled disputes as
possible.
The European security environment is very sensitive to evolutions in
neighbouring regions like the Middle East and North Africa or the South
Caucasus and Central Asia. Therefore, I think
the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will continue their efforts in the direction of
“bringing more peace”, but they would also have to benefit from the support and
willingness of all parties involved in such processes.
Romania
supports firmly the peaceful settlement of the protracted conflicts, based on
international law, particularly with respect for the territorial integrity and
sovereignty of the states challenged with these conflicts. On the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict, the OSCE Minsk Group is the international body in charge of
facilitating the resolution to the conflict on Nagorno-Karabakh. Certainly,
this outcome requires political will and constructive engagement in order to
overcome all tensions