Ilham Aliyev: We will strengthen relations with Switzerland

«We are very pleased that the investment made by Switzerland in Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan in Switzerland, strengthen our relations. Switzerland invests in the development of the industry, particularly in the construction sector, while Azerbaijan invests in the energy sector. "This was stated by the head of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev at a joint press conference with the President of Switzerland Didier Burkhalter.

Referring to the Karabakh issue, Aliyev called the Swiss president, who is the current chairman of the OSCE, to intensify efforts to resolve the conflict within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. He urged the OSCE Minsk Group to achieve the withdrawal of Armenian forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

In reply, Didier Burkhalter said that there is great potential for cooperation in the economic sphere. Swiss companies may invest a lot of investment. "We are open to strengthening and intensification of relations between our countries," he said.

"At the same time this year, Switzerland is the OSCE Chairman. We know that in a few months it is not possible to change everything, solve all the problems, including the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, on which we spent a morning and will still make a lot of discussion. The resolution of this conflict requires time. I also came here to listen, to understand different views and perhaps find ways to make progress in the negotiations. My approach as OSCE Chairman is very clear. We believe that we must move step by step towards peace. And this means that we advocate two main issues. First - we promote the intensification of the dialogue and the dialogue has already taken place. However, there is a need for a new meeting between the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia. It was proposed to hold this meeting in Paris, we also supported the idea. We stand for hosting this meeting in the near future. This meeting should be the starting point of a new phase of negotiations. On the other hand, it can be a process of structured negotiations that will lead to a peace agreement. And this negotiating process should be based on the Madrid principles.

The second main issue that we advocate is strengthening the ceasefire. First of all, it is a mechanism to investigate incidents, which in the past has been agreed by all parties, but never implemented. Let me express my willingness on behalf of Switzerland as OSCE Chairman and as a state, after the presidency,  to support the negotiation process, organizing meetings, offering their expertise, mobilizing political and financial support to the implementation of the peace agreement," said the head of the OSCE.

It is noteworthy that the head of the OSCE said virtually nothing about democracy. -02D-