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BAKU: Azeri, Finnish presidents discuss NK, integration into Europe

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  • BAKU: Azeri, Finnish presidents discuss NK, integration into Europe

    ANS TV, Azerbaijan
    Sept 29 2005

    AZERI, FINNISH PRESIDENTS DISCUSS KARABAKH, INTEGRATION INTO EUROPE

    [Presenter] As a country that will chair the OSCE from 2007, Finland
    will help Azerbaijan resolve the Nagornyy Karabakh problem, visiting
    Finnish President Tarja Halonen has said.

    [Correspondent over video of the ceremony to welcome the Finnish
    president ] Opportunities for developing bilateral relations between
    Finland and Azerbaijan should be expanded. This issue topped the
    agenda of the one-to-one and expanded talks Halonen held as part of
    her two-day visit to Baku.

    The presidents held a news conference after an agreement on avoiding
    double taxation and preventing tax evasion and a memorandum of
    understanding were signed by the foreign ministers. They expressed
    their satisfaction with the level of the political dialogue in
    relations between the two countries. [Azerbaijani] President Ilham
    Aliyev said that the state will support the common interests of
    private companies in tomorrow's business forum. Aliyev said that
    stability is the main condition for investing in Azerbaijan and that
    conflicts like the Nagornyy Karabakh problem prevent development.

    [Aliyev speaking in English at the news conference with Azeri
    voice-over] The South Caucasus region has common problems. The
    settlement of the conflict and the implementation of political,
    economic and social reforms are priorities of our policy. We attach
    great importance to integration into Europe. The EU's New
    Neighbourhood Policy can make a great contribution to this issue.
    Integration into Europe is the main direction of our policy and we
    have been actively working on this sphere.

    [Correspondent] Finnish President Halonen said that they are
    interested not only in Azerbaijan's rich economic potential, but also
    in political processes. She said that Finland was closely watching
    the November parliamentary election and hopes that the Council of
    Europe principles would be observed. Halonen supported the peaceful
    settlement of the Karabakh issue and pledged that as a country that
    will chair the OSCE from 2007, Finland would make more efforts to
    solve the issue.

    [Halonen, speaking in English with Azeri voice-over] We all know that
    a good condition for one country may not be regarded as good for
    another. Therefore, one of the sides does not always agree with
    compromises. I think that both sides should be satisfied with the
    agreement. You can discuss the issue together with Armenia in the
    Council of Europe, the OSCE and the European Union. As the president
    of the country that will chair the EU and the OSCE, I can say that we
    will do everything we can to contribute to the resolution of the
    conflict. We will try to ensure people's security.

    [Correspondent] Halonen said that Azerbaijan had great prospects for
    integrating into Europe and that Azerbaijan would benefit from the
    EU's New Neighbourhood Policy. The key to stability in the South
    Caucasus is in the hands of peoples living there, end quote.

    Zamina Aliyeva, Emil Babaxanov, ANS.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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