'Azerbaijan not seeks EU membership'

Azerbaijan still does not intend joining the EU. The country's leadership can make such a decision only after the most advanced European experience can be transformed in Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev said at the international conference 'Bridge laying' in Baku today.

Azerbaijan began cooperating with the European Union in 1996. The agreement on various issues, 30 items of various cooperation programmes has been reached during this period. Unfortunately, no agreement on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement was reached. Azerbaijan does not agree with the EU position on Nagorno-Karabakh, Mammadguliyev said.

"We have presented a preliminary version on the issue, but have not received a response yet," he said.

International organisations have also not demonstrated a clear position and have not offered any concrete solutions to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, he added.

"Despite the fact that the EU has always has a clear position on other conflicts, when it comes to Azerbaijan, people say that we support the position of the OSCE Minsk Group in this matter and look forward to its decision," he said. "This is not enough for using a similar approach, Armenia delays the settlement process."

Full cooperation between Azerbaijan with the EU is possible, but the main obstacle is the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, he said.

Regarding cooperation with the EU on energy security, Mammadguliyev said that Azerbaijan supports the Southern Gas Corridor project.

"Azerbaijan wants to act as a transit country and supplier," the deputy minister said.


/Trend/