Bishkek interested in military cooperation with Azerbaijan

/By AzerNews/

By Sara Rajabova

Baku and Bishkek have explored ways for further development of military cooperation between the two countries.

Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister Colonel General Zakir Hasanov met Kyrgyzstan`s Prime Minister Temir Sariyev on June 1, AzerTac state news agency reported.

The sides expressed satisfaction with the development of fraternal relations between the two countries, and hailed the meetings between various authorities of Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan.

Touching upon the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Sariyev stressed the importance for soonest settlement of the problem within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions.

“Our relations are developing not only in bilateral, but also in multilateral formats within the UN, OSCE and other organizations. The military cooperation is one of the important elements of the Kyrgyzstan-Azerbaijan relations, and we are interested in strengthening and developing this productive cooperation,” the Premier underlined.

Hasanov, for his part, stressed the importance of expansion of relations between the two countries in military sphere, including army building and military education.

The sides also exchanged views over issues of mutual interest.

Diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan was established on January 19, 1993.

Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan are working together to strengthen their partnership in industry, trade, communications, and transportation fields. The two countries also intend to develop cooperation between their justice authorities.