European Commission publishes full text of Barroso's speech in Baku following Azerbaijan's discontent

Earlier, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry expressed deep concern upon the fact that European Commission President José Manuel Barroso's speech to foreign and local media during his visit to Baku was not fully posted on the official website of the European Commission. Moreover, the quotes relating to the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan were removed and replaced with other statements.

Full text:   http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/president/news/speeches-statements/index_en.htm#top

The Delegation of the European Commission, headed by its President Jose Manuel Barroso arrived in Baku on Jan. 13. It was Barroso's first visit to Azerbaijan during his stay on this post. Barroso was accompanied by EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger.

During a joint press conference with the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Barroso touched upon Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and expressed support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

In particular, Barroso said that the European Union, of course, supports the principle of territorial integrity of the partner countries, including Azerbaijan. We also support the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group. We are willing to finance the confidence-building measures", the Foreign Ministry said.


/Trend/