Bishkek Responds to Reproofs from Baku

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic with regret learned the response of the Foreign Ministry of the Azerbaijan Republic with respect to Kyrgyzstan's refusal to vote for the political points of the Islamabad Declaration of the Economic Cooperation Organization. This statement by the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry has been published on the ministry's website.

Earlier, the representative of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan Novruz Mammadov expressed bewilderment at and criticism of Kyrgyzstan's position on settlements of the Islamabad Declaration of the Economic Cooperation Organization, which expressed support for the territorial integrity of the ECO member states.

"We believe this regional association is designed to solve, first of all, economic issues. In this regard, the majority of the delegations were in favor of not politicizing the organization itself, and the Islamabad Declaration. At the same time, Kyrgyzstan did not prevent the adoption of the declaration, and refrained from approving its political points," the statement of the Foreign Ministry of Kyrgyzstan said.

The Kyrgyz Republic at the bilateral level with the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as in multilateral format always consistently advocates the peaceful settlement of territorial disputes on the basis of norms and principles of international law, including the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of each state, with which it has established diplomatic relations.

Kyrgyzstan is interested in further strengthening and expansion of relations with Azerbaijan, as well as with all the ECO member countries. --- 06D--