Donald Tusk Raised Human Rights Issues at Meeting with Ilham Aliyev
The European Union supports the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and considers it as its important partner. This was stated by the European Council President Donald Tusk on 6 February in Brussels after talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev.
“We are based on a reliable and strategic partnership and we want to further expand cooperation. Azerbaijan is of great importance for the energy security and diversification of Europe's energy supply. We have a common commitment to the completion of the Southern Gas Corridor,” Tusk said before the press.
EU is the main trading partner of Azerbaijan and one of the major investors in it.
“We discussed how we can assist in the modernization and diversification of Azerbaijan's economy,” Tusk continued.
According to him, progress in the negotiations on Azerbaijan's WTO accession would pave the way for a competitive business and, accordingly, would allow progress in economic integration.
“During the talks, I underlined the importance attached by us to human rights and freedoms, including freedom of expression. The EU believes this is the best guarantee for long-term stability in open societies. We sincerely wish to work as partners in these matters,” Tusk said.
He also noted Azerbaijan's role as a bridge in intercultural dialogue.
During the meeting they also discussed issues of peaceful settlement of the NK conflict. Tusk noted the instability of the status quo. He said there is no military solution to the conflict, and the problem should be resolved at a political level, on the basis of international law. The EU fully supports the mediation efforts and proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group.
Tusk also welcomed the negotiations starting on February 7 between Azerbaijan and the EU on a new partnership agreement that will increase the scale of their cooperation. -06D-
Politics
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Armenia is not against the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group, but does not consider it appropriate to discuss this issue now. "In the context of peace, we consider it possible to make a decision on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group. When peace is an established fact, the existence of such a format may raise questions," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a press conference today. "The whole question is about the timing, we need to understand how effectively and correctly to turn such topics into a subject of discussion right now," the Armenian Prime Minister added.
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He expressed his willingness to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the border between the two countries. "A meeting with Ilham Aliyev could take place at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. I am open to such a format," Pashinyan said at a press conference today. According to Pashinyan, Armenia recently presented another proposal for a peace treaty to Azerbaijan.
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On August 31, Azerbaijan observes a "day of silence" before the Sunday’s early parliamentary elections for the unicameral Milli Majlis. All electoral campaigning is prohibited 24 hours before the voting. The early elections were initiated by the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party. This decision was motivated by the overlap of the scheduled elections in November with the global UN forum - the COP20 climate conference taking place in Baku.
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On August 30, at approximately 22:55, the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant in Metsamor was disconnected from the country's power grid, as reported by the Armenian Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure. The shutdown was caused by a lightning strike, which triggered the plant's safety systems to switch the station to a safe shutdown mode. Currently, the plant's staff is working on restarting the facility.
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