Today.Az - President Aliyev: Azerbaijan becomes NATO’s reliable partner - UPDATE

Today.Az » Politics » President Aliyev: Azerbaijan becomes NATO’s reliable partner - UPDATE - PHOTOS

06 September 2014 [08:23] - Today.Az

President Ilham Aliyev attended the NATO summit in Wales, September 4-5. In addition to the 28-members states that form the North Atlantic alliance, countries particpiating in the ISAF force in Afghanistan, the United Nations and the European Union participated in the meeting.

The summit's agenda included the most pressing issues in the world today: the crisis in Ukraine, Afghanistan's future, tackling new threats, such as cyber crime and missiles. Also on the agency was strengthening support for the armed forces, strengthening partnerships, and the crisis in Iraq and Syria.

President Aliyev addressed the NATO meeting on Afghanistan, saying that over the 20 years of cooperation between Azerbaijan and NATO, the country has turned into a reliable partner contributing to a number of the Alliance's activities.

"Azerbaijan plays an important part in regional security and stability," the president said. "At the same time, the biggest threat to the security of the region is posed by the policy of aggression pursued by Armenia, which keeps 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent districts, under occupation. Armenia has carried out a policy of ethnic cleansing against the Azerbaijanis, as a result of which more than a million people have become refugees and internally displaced persons."

Ilham Aliyev reminded that four UN Security Council resolutions demand an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories.

"Unfortunately, Armenia continues to flout them and the conflict remains unresolved. The conflict must be resolved on the basis of international law and the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," Azerbaijani president said.

President Aliyev added that Azerbaijan appreciates NATO's position on this issue, as well as its unreserved support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan voiced at previous summits.

"We firmly believe that NATO's commitment to such an important part of international law will continue in the future," the president said. "Thus, it will make an explicit contribution to the restoration of justice and prevent the spread of the misperception regarding the possibility of a forcible change of internationally recognized borders."

The president stressed that Azerbaijan is making a comprehensive contribution to ensuring the long-term development of Afghanistan.

"Azerbaijan is one of the five NATO partners to be contributing to all three focus areas of this summit," the president said. "Azerbaijan's military personnel have been part of the ISAF contingent since its early days. Extensive training programs are conducted for Afghanistan's law-enforcement and government officials at different academies in Azerbaijan. A total of three million euros has been transferred into the Fund of Trustees of Afghanistan's National Army, while one million euros was spent on strengthening operations."

President Aliyev added that the transit of 40 percent of non-destructive goods intended for ISAF forces is provided by Azerbaijan.

"In addition, the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which will create important transit opportunities within the framework of the "Resolute Support" program we will join in the future, will be commissioned in the coming months," the president said.

"Coupled with the biggest in the Caspian region Azerbaijan International Seaport, this railway will open up extensive trade and economic opportunities both for the region and Afghanistan. It will also benefit Afghanistan, which is located at the center of the route linking the Far East with Europe," Ilham Aliyev said.

The Azerbaijani leader stated that as a country which has completed a transition from a period of stagnation and crisis in the early years of independence to one of stability and rapid economic development, "Azerbaijan is ready to share its experience with Afghanistan and contribute to various reconstruction and investment projects in this country".

/Trend/

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05.09.2014
10:12

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the French Republic Francois Hollande have met in Wales on the sidelines of the NATO summit.

During the meeting, the sides expressed their satisfaction with the successful development of bilateral relations between the countries. The parties noted that there were good prospects for cooperation between Azerbaijan and France in various fields.

During the conversation, the heads of state exchanged views on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

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The NATO summit has started in the city of Newport, Wales.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev is attending the Summit.

Delegates from the NATO member states and ISAF partner countries, the UN and other international organizations are participating in the event. Officials of the UN and European Union also joined the summit.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron welcomed President Ilham Aliyev and other heads of state and government.
Heads of state and government posed together for photographs.

The agenda of the summit includes crisis in Ukraine, Afghanistan’s future, tackling new threats, strengthening support for the Armed Forces, strengthening partnerships, Iraq and Syria crisis.
Addressing the Summit’s meeting on Afghanistan, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen greeted heads of state and government. The Secretary General said the meeting is one of the most important in NATO’s history.

Then the participants paid tribute to servicemen, who died in Afghanistan.

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron expressed satisfaction with holding of the event in Wales. “NATO is an important alliance for our future,” he said. David Cameron thanked the countries for joining the ISAF program and contributing to security in Afghanistan. He noted that NATO successfully ends its mission in Afghanistan and takes pride in the results of formation of an army in this country.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev addressed the summit.

The summit will last till September 5. The next stage of the cooperation with Australia, Georgia, Jordan, Finland and Sweden will be discussed at the summit.

The previous summit was held in Chicago in 2012.

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04.09.2014
10:12

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev arrived on a working visit to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on September 3 to participate in the NATO summit.

President Aliyev: Azerbaijan becomes NATO’s reliable partner