MFA: Territorial integrity of Azerbaijan never been & cannot be subject of discussion

  13 April 2019    Read: 2877
 MFA: Territorial integrity of Azerbaijan never been & cannot be subject of discussion

The territorial integrity of Azerbaijan has never been and cannot be a subject of discussion, spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva told Trend on April 13.

"Recently, information related to the negotiations on a new partnership agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan has been disseminated by some media outlets that the EU allegedly does not support the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. In this regard, I would like to note that negotiations between Azerbaijan and the EU on a new agreement are continuing. I assure you that, like it was in other bilateral and multilateral documents signed between the EU and Azerbaijan, as well as in the resolutions and statements of EU institutions, the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan has never been and cannot be a subject of discussion," Abdullayeva said.

Moreover, the EU office in Azerbaijan told Trend that the negotiations on the new agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan are ongoing at an increased pace with strong commitment from both sides.

"There is nothing like an agreement on parts of the text. For the time being, there is no agreed text, there is no concluded agreement, therefore any comments on an alleged text or formulation seem misplaced," the EU office said.

The European Council adopted a mandate for the European Commission and the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy to negotiate, on behalf of the EU and its member states, a comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan in November 2016.

The new agreement should replace the 1996 partnership and cooperation agreement and should better take account of the shared objectives and challenges the EU and Azerbaijan face today.

The agreement will follow the principles endorsed in the 2015 review of the European Neighborhood Policy and offer a renewed basis for political dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan.

Currently, bilateral relations between the EU and Azerbaijan are regulated on the basis of an agreement on partnership and cooperation that was signed in 1996 and entered into force in 1999.

The new agreement envisages the compliance of Azerbaijan’s legislation and procedures with the EU’s most important international trade norms and standards, which should lead to the improvement of Azerbaijani goods’ access to the EU markets.

Creation of a common aviation area is an initiative of the European Commission and aims to open and integrate aviation markets. This will lead to new opportunities for consumers and operators, and, most importantly, to high standards in terms of flight safety as well as air traffic management.


More about: MFA   Leyla-Abdullayeva   European-Union  


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