Azerbaijan is not seeking EU membership, much less NATO membership.

Baku/27.06.22/Turan: Last week Ukraine and Moldova were granted candidate status in the European Union. While Georgia has not yet been granted candidate status. After this protests began in the country.

What is Azerbaijan's integration into Europe about? What is the essence of the partnership negotiations with the European Union, which began in 2017?

Elman Nasirov, a member of the Milli Majlis Committee on International Relations and Interparliamentary Relations, told Turan that the Azerbaijani state is not going to become a member of the European Union. "We are members of the Non-Aligned Movement and we are also chairing it."

He pointed out that Azerbaijan is taking steps toward integration into Europe. "However, integration does not include membership itself. We are committed to deepening relations with the European Union."

According to the deputy, a document on strategic partnership with the European Union is being worked on. "This is not an association agreement, we give preference to a strategic partnership document. The association agreement represents the European Union and dictates its conditions. In the meantime, the document on strategic partnership defines the framework of cooperation with the European Union on the basis of mutual agreements. Azerbaijan is the author of the document on strategic partnership. The draft is 95% ready. Work on several issues is ongoing so that 100% agreement of the parties would be reached.

The committee member noted that Azerbaijan is interested in preserving cooperation with the European Union and deepening development. "There is an even greater need for this, especially in terms of energy security, and the European Union perceives Azerbaijan as a new, alternative source of energy. Especially considering Europe's growing energy needs in terms of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the creation of an Azerbaijan-European Union energy dialogue is logical, and this process has already started."

Elkhan Shahinoglu, head of the Atlas Research Center, said that the Azerbaijani authorities are not seeking membership in NATO and the European Union. "There are no discussions on the issue in the society. We haven't set such a goal."

According to him, NATO is more problematic in this sense. "Because NATO membership means that Azerbaijan's relations with Russia and Iran will be tense. We don't need additional tension either. If Azerbaijan targets even NATO membership, we will not be accepted there, and the pressure will increase instead. Despite this, we closely cooperate with the second largest NATO state, Turkey, and our army is built according to Turkish standards.

The political scientist believes that it is necessary to strive for close cooperation with the European Union. "The European Union is now interested in Azerbaijan transporting more energy resources to Europe. Negotiations with the European Union cannot be artificially prolonged. Negotiations on a strategic agreement have been going on for years, and unfortunately, there are no results."-0-