Ziyafat Asgarov, the first Vice-Speaker of the Milli Majlis (Parliament), head of the Azerbaijani delegation to PANATO(Parliamentary Assembly of North-Atlantic Organization) has met a delegation of the Subcommittee of the NATO Defense and Security Committee headed by Vahid Erdem today, Trend reports referring to the press service of the Azerbaijani Parliament.
Mr. Asgarov pointed out that Azerbaijan pays particular attention to its relations with PANATO. The country takes an active part with NATO in a number of areas, including the struggle against terrorism. Having pointed out that Azerbaijan is rapidly developing both socially and economically, large-scale projects are being implemented in the country, Mr. Asgarov stressed that these projects are at the centre of the attention of Europe. However, unfortunately, we have serious problems that impede our development. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is one of them. OSCE Minsk Group is strictly engaged in settling this conflict, but, unfortunately, there has been no breakthrough in negotiations. The Armenians are ignoring the decisions and resolutions of the international organizations taken in connection with the settlement of the conflict. And we think that NATO should make its presence felt, Mr. Asgarov told.
Mr. Erdem underlined that NATO shows great interest in South Caucasus. It is very important to our organization to develop relations with the countries of South Caucasus, particularly with Azerbaijan. The World is shaken with serious problems terrorism, energy crises, etc. Therefore, our joint co-operation is of a great need to us, he told.
After a reminder that he had visited Armenia and Georgia before visiting Azerbaijan , the guest pointed out that the NATO aims are to enrich the information about Azerbaijan, reforms that are under implementation in the country, etc. We know that Azerbaijan plays an important role in the region, has huge oil resources, and is implementing large-scale energy projects. This is of great interest to both Turkey and the West. We are very sorry that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has not been settled to date. NATO is a supporter of a peaceful settlement of the conflict, and we hope that there will be breakthroughs in this regard, underlined Mr. Erdem.