Baku, Azerbaijan, May 14

Trend:

The final document following the meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels dedicated to the 10th anniversary of launching the EU Eastern Partnership program was not planned to be adopted at all, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg Fuad Isgandarov said.

Isgandarov, who is also the head of the Azerbaijani representative office to the EU, was commenting on the information that Azerbaijan did not agree with the final document following the meeting and that the use of veto right by Azerbaijan was connected with the lack of references to the country's territorial integrity, Trend reports on May 14.

The ambassador stressed that the issue was voiced by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov during a high-level conference dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership (for information, please visit https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-172103).

“The final document following the ministerial meeting in Brussels, dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership, was not planned to be adopted at all,” Isgandarov added.

"The discussions, which were held during the process of making the proposals for the adoption of a single document of the Eastern Partnership, all EU member-states and European institutions, were procedural,” he said. “Such issues as whether the document will be concise or expanded, comprehensive and focusing on all aspects were discussed, as it was at previous summits.”

He continued by saying, “Azerbaijan was a proponent of inclusion of the issues, which are fundamental for all EU member-states and Eastern Partnership countries, in the case of adoption of the final document.”

He added, “In this context, the issue of independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all Eastern Partnership countries was jointly proposed by Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova”.

“To decrease the volume of the document, an agreement was reached that it would include the references to the documents of previous summits and thereby reflect the abovementioned principles during the discussions among the Eastern Partnership countries, the EU institutions and member-states,” Isgandarov said.

“The document entitled 'Chairman’s Final Notes', signed by High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, contains all references to the documents from previous summits,” he added.

Isgandarov once again emphasized that territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence were unequivocally recognized at all Eastern Partnership summits.

In his words, in conclusion, an agreement was reached that this short document which was not a declaration should be presented as "Chairman’s Final Notes".

“In contrast to the abovementioned facts, the celebration of the "non-recognition of territorial integrity" of Azerbaijan in the Armenian press is absurd,” he said.

"If the opposite side carefully reads the document, it will see the references to the documents adopted at the previous summits," the ambassador said. He emphasized that Azerbaijan’s foreign policy is based on the country’s interests and the norms and principles of international law.

"Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s current visit to Brussels is the most vivid example of this attitude," the ambassador said.

Isgandarov reminded that a number of high-level meetings were held during the visit and the events dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership are still underway.

The Azerbaijani foreign minister also participates in these events and Azerbaijan’s position based on its national interests is voiced during all the discussions.