BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr. 17
Trend:
Italian media outlets - İl Giornale, Faro di Roma, Agenzia Nova and MSN Notizie published materials dedicated to the speech of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the international conference ‘A New Vision for South Caucasus: Post-Conflict Development and Cooperation’ at the ADA University on April 13, Trend reports.
The articles emphasized that the conference, which was attended by representatives of analytical centers from 15 countries, including Italy, lasted more than three hours.
President of Azerbaijan, answering the questions of Italian experts who participated in the event, said: "Italy is a very close friend and partner for us. I still remember my state visit to Italy last February. As you know, before that President of Italy Mr. Mattarella paid a state visit to Azerbaijan and my visit was also a continuation of our strategic dialogue. We signed a document on strategic partnership. By the way, it was the second. We already signed one, it was signed several years ago. So, this really demonstrates our mutual commitment. And also, as you correctly mentioned we are very grateful to Italy for their straightforward, just approach with respect to the resolution of the conflict, which we know that was not easy to articulate, especially in the European Union family, where there are very strong, powerful Armenian supporters who always tried to put on the same scale the victim of occupation and the occupational forces. So, that was really very important sign of cooperation.”
The media outlets also focused on the words of President Ilham Aliyev that Azerbaijani-Italian cooperation was tested during the Second Karabakh War and after it.
"Our political relations are excellent. We continue strong cooperation and this cooperation was already tested during the conflict and in the post-war period. And as you correctly mentioned, the visit of Italian delegation to the liberated territories is considered by us as another sign of support. I can tell you that from the very first days of our plans for reconstruction we invited Italian companies. We invited them through Italian Embassy. Here by the way, the Ambassador who already terminated his duties was very active in promoting Italian interests and Italian business and he is a very good friend of Azerbaijan. So, we approached Italian embassy in order to give us some recommendations with respect to Italian companies. We had previous contacts, because Italian companies implemented big projects here, in petrochemicals, refinery, construction, and architectural projects. They already started and we want to expand the presence of Italian companies. As I said, after war we will invite the companies from friendly countries. And this is natural, because the period of war was a kind of clear indicator for us who is who", said the Italian media citing the words of the head of the Azerbaijani state.
The articles of Il Giornale and MSN Notizie also emphasized that one of the main topics discussed at the conference was the issue of de-mining the territories of Azerbaijan liberated from Armenian occupation.
The media outlets, referring to the words of President Ilham Aliyev, wrote that the biggest problem in returning internally displaced persons to their homes is mines, and Armenia does not provide maps of minefields.
“The number of tragic cases as a result of the explosion of mines planted by Armenia proves the correctness of the Azerbaijani side. So, from December to mid-March, more than 17,000 unexploded ordnances were cleared. At the same time, from mid-November 2020 to early April 2021, as a result of their explosions, 20 people were killed and 85 people, both military and civilians, were injured,” the Italian media outlets wrote citing the words of the Azerbaijani president.
“The clearance of the liberated territories is a difficult process, and Azerbaijan must acquire the missing special equipment. Italy's assistance in this matter is also important,” the articles said.