EU-Azerbaijan relations are based on shared values and we address issues of our cooperation and issues of regional importance, President Ilham Aliyev said at the meeting with president of European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso in Brussels today.

He expressed gratitude to the European Commission and its president for continuous support to the democratic development of Azerbaijan, protection of human rights and political reforms.

Economic cooperation

President Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan has close economic cooperation with the European Union.

“European Union is our main trade partner and our trade turnover with the member-states is growing and this also helps to support the initiatives which are framed by the Eastern Partnership program”.

President Aliyev highly valued the initiative saying it was a very important step from the European institutions to engage countries of the former Soviet Union into the framework of this cooperation and Azerbaijan is an active partner of this initiative group.

President Aliyev also noted that Azerbaijan has already started investing into European countries. He said investments are made not only in energy sector, but also in other areas of mutual interest.

He said Azerbaijan also enjoys European investment which helps the country to diversify its economy and modernize it.

Political prisoners

Answering the question from a journalist about the political prisoners, President Ilham Aliyev said there are no political prisoners in Azerbaijan.

“If you read carefully the comments after the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in January, which rejected the report about the political prisoners of Azerbaijan, I think that the chapter is closed”, the president said, “Nobody is arrested in Azerbaijan on political ground and freedoms of assembly are fully provided, freedom of media also, we have free internet, and the number of internet users in Azerbaijan is more than 70%”, president said.

Presidential elections

As for the presidential elections, the president said much is left to it, the election campaign is yet to start.

“Azerbaijan will invite international observers from European institutions, and provide all the necessary conditions for all the candidates in order to present their programs and to present themselves to the Azerbaijani people”, the president said.

“The will of the Azerbaijani people will be fully reflected in the outcomes of these elections. I am sure that the government will do everything in order to provide it”.

Regional security

Ilham Aliyev expressed his gratitude to the European Commission for its efforts in ensuring stability and security in the South Caucasus region.

"Azerbaijan is a country interested in resolution of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh most of all as our lands have been under occupation for over 20 years and this must be stopped," he said.

The President welcomed the recent statement by the presidents of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group made last week at the Big Eight summit. The statement said that the settlement should be based on the principles of the Helsinki Final Act.

The presidents also called on all parties involved to avoid actions and words that could harm the negotiation process.

"Azerbaijan is interested in earliest resolution of the conflict based on norms and principles of international law and implementation of four UN resolutions, which demand the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian troops from the internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan," Aliyev said.

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