The Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Araz Azimov, stated on January 29th at a national seminar on the application of the Convention of the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction in Azerbaijan Republic that a national bill will be created on the banning of chemical weapons.
According to the Deputy Minister, Azerbaijan has joined the Convention and from the first day of its application has undertaken to make full efforts to fulfill obligations while applying the document. He said that Azerbaijan does not retreat from any of these obligations. Presently the State faces plans to bring national legislation into conformity with international legislation and co-ordinate the activities of State bodies in this respect. Azimov underlined. He stressed that once chemical weapons have been used outside of the South Caucasus region, they may be used again.
The diplomat said that Azerbaijan, with its opportunities, is not liable to use its chemical industry to create a center of danger in the region, he said. The representative of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Sergey Kiselev, stated at the seminar that the European Union wants to be sure that Azerbaijan will not use its chemical industry for creating chemical weapons. He positively assessed the activities of Azerbaijan in applying the Convention. According to him, over this period, Azerbaijan has presented a list of chemical enterprises and a number of meetings have been held between the experts of Azerbaijan and representatives of the Convention. He mentioned the necessity of continuing these contacts.
Organized with the support of the European Union, the seminar brings together representatives of the State bodies of Azerbaijan. The seminar will last till February 1st.