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Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as part of his visit to Brussels.
During the meeting the sides expressed satisfaction with the development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and NATO, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
Azerbaijan’s active participation in the NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP), Planning and Review Process (PARP) and the Operational Capabilities Concept (OCC) was hailed at the meeting.
The sides also underlined Azerbaijan’s contributions to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Resolute Support missions aimed at ensuring peace and security, noting that Azerbaijan provides transit opportunities for NATO forces in Afghanistan.
FM Mammadyarov said bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Afghanistan stand at a high level, calling the Secretary of the Afghan National Security Council Mohammad Hanif Atmar’s visit to Azerbaijan is clear example of that.
It was noted that the launch of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will increase the access to regional transport infrastructure in Afghanistan.
The important role of Azerbaijan in ensuring energy security of Europe, successful implementation of TANAP and TAP gas pipeline project were emphasized.
Giving detailed information about the negotiation process on the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, Mammadyarov said the recent Vienna meeting created a favorable opportunity to start substantive talks.
The FM said the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs and the international community consider the status quo unreliable, unstable and unacceptable.
Changing the status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict requires the withdrawal of Armenian troops from Azerbaijan’s occupied territories, Mammadyarov added.
In addition, the sides exchanged views on the prospects of Azerbaijan-NATO relations, as well as international and regional issues.
Apa.az
