Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 26
Trend:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Azerbaijan is a landmark event as the leadership of one of the leading European countries visited the region, Azerbaijani political analyst Fikret Sadikhov told Trend.
“Germany is the engine of the European Union,” he said. “Azerbaijan's relations with this leading European country have always been built on a mutually beneficial basis.”
"Azerbaijan and Germany have long-term partnership relations not only in the field of energy, but also historical aspects, political, humanitarian and economic ties,” Sadikhov said.
“Moreover, Germany is interested in implementing energy projects, in particular the Southern Gas Corridor,” he added. “It also seeks to develop ties with the republics of the South Caucasus. Of course, the German chancellor’s visit to the three republics of the region is not accidental."
“The German chancellor’s visit to Baku will give impetus to the development and expansion of bilateral relations,” he said.
"I think that as part of bilateral talks between the leadership of Azerbaijan and Germany, besides energy and economic issues, security issues and the fight against terrorism were discussed, because they are important for Azerbaijan, Germany and the whole European Union," Sadikhov added.
“Of course, the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was also discussed during the meeting,” he said. “I think that much depends on Germany as a member of the OSCE Minsk Group in the direction of its settlement within the international law and the restoration of territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.”
“Azerbaijani diplomats updated the German leadership about the importance and the need for rapid settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to ensure stability and security in this strategically important region,” Sadikhov said.
“The settlement of the conflict in accordance with the laws of international law is important not only for Azerbaijan and region, but also for the European countries,” he said. “We maintain long-standing partnership relations with those countries. All agreements reached during the visit will further strengthen bilateral relations.”
Merkel paid a visit to the South Caucasus on August 23-25.