EU ready to play its part in Karabakh peace deal
President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan held talks in Brussels today focusing mainly on energy issues. He met both European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, who both described Azerbaijan as "a very important partner for the EU".
"Azerbaijan is a very important partner for us - we have achieved a reliable partnership in the energy field," said Barroso, adding: "We want to build on this, moving to a long-term association grounded in democracy and shared values, in particular human rights and fundamental freedoms."
The European Commission President spoke in detail about the EU's strategic energy cooperation with Azerbaijan, in particular the Southern Gas Corridor.
"We are both extremely pleased with the progress achieved on the Southern Gas Corridor since our Joint Declaration of 2011," he said, adding Azerbaijan had been delivering all the commitments taken at the time.
He said President Aliyev had confirmed that the Shah Deniz II Consortium would decide on the critical ‘European leg' of the Corridor next week, and choose between the two options, ‘Nabucco-West' and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
"This is as such a commercial decision for the consortium. But I would like to stress also that both Nabucco West and TAP are of strategic importance for the diversification of our gas supplies for our single energy market. I am therefore confident that both routes could ultimately be built, once we scale up the Southern Gas Corridor beyond the currently available gas with further resources. This can be a win-win situation!"
"The Southern Gas Corridor is not a theoretical project on the drawing board," Barroso stressed: "It is about to be realized, to the benefit of all involved. It will bring initially 10 billion cubic meters to Europe by 2019, but we will not stop here. The Corridor could in the medium term cover more than 10% of our annual needs in Europe and thus contribute to our energy security, price stability, growth and jobs."
Domestic issues were also on the agenda, including upcoming presidential elections, and ensuring human rights and fundamental freedoms. "We have discussed these issues in an open manner and I had the opportunity to recall that stability and prosperity can only endure in the long term with the respect of rule of law, democratic institutions and of course a dynamic civil society," Barroso said.
Van Rompuy likewise stressed the importance of human rights: "I reminded the President of the European Union's very firm ambition to achieve a long-term association with Azerbaijan, with democracy and shared values at its core, in particular human rights and fundamental freedoms."
They also discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: "We know well that for countries in the region to realize their full potential they need to be secure and at peace with their neighbours. We call therefore for a fair resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in accordance with the agreed principles. The EU supports the international mediation efforts through the OSCE Minsk Group and stands ready to play its part for a lasting and peaceful settlement," Barroso said.
