BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 19. On July 19, the 18th meeting of the Azerbaijan-European Union Cooperation Council was held in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, under the co-chairmanship of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Relations and Security Policy Joseph Borrell, Trend reports citing Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.
During the meeting, relations between Azerbaijan and the EU were discussed, in particular, the current state of the comprehensive agreement currently under negotiation between Azerbaijan and the European Union. Both sides confirmed that they are in favor of concluding this agreement in a short time.
Then, various aspects of relations between Azerbaijan and the European Union, sectoral cooperation, including energy, transport, environment, economy, trade, relations between people, social issues, as well as communication issues were discussed. n particular, the important role of Azerbaijan in ensuring the energy security of Europe was brought to the attention of the European Union. It was noted that Azerbaijan is a reliable partner, and in this regard, the importance of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the President of the European Commission on July 18. The European Union said that Azerbaijani natural gas contributes to the security of supplies and price stability. At the same time, the prospects for the development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the European Union on multilateral platforms and, in this context, cooperation within the framework of the Eastern Partnership and ways to improve the Eastern Partnership were discussed.
Another item on the agenda was devoted to regional issues. In this regard, broad discussions were held on the process of normalizing relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Jeyhun Bayramov drew attention to the current state of the normalization process, the approach and vision of Azerbaijan. It was noted that Azerbaijan is a supporter of a systematic and structured approach to signing a peace agreement. The position of Azerbaijan on the delimitation of borders, the opening of communications and the implementation of confidence building measures between Azerbaijan and Armenia was brought to the attention of the EU.
In particular, the minister informed about the restoration work in the post-conflict period. He stressed that the significant date of the current meeting coincided with the return of internally displaced persons, expelled from their homes, to the village of Agali, Zangilan district. The Minister also drew attention to the issues of mass mining of Azerbaijani territories in the context of post-conflict reconstruction and construction work. He brought to the attention of his colleagues that this is a serious obstacle to the speedy return of former internally displaced persons, and that Azerbaijani civilians are killed and injured as a result of mine explosions, which occur regularly. It was noted that assistance and cooperation to Azerbaijan in the field of demining is of great importance.
During the meeting, information was provided on other issues on the agenda of the Azerbaijan-European Union, including cooperation in the field of democracy, human rights, the rule of law, steps and reforms taken in Azerbaijan in this direction, and an exchange of views took place on other regional agenda items.
At the end of the meeting, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Relations and Security Policy Josep Borrell made press statements.