Interview by Bogdan Aurescu, State Secretary for Strategic Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania to APA
— How do you evaluate the present day stage of relations between Romania and Azerbaijan? Which are, in your opinion, the priority fields of these relations?
— Since the “rebirth” of the Republic of Azerbaijan as a new independent state on the map of the world in 1991, relations with Romania have constantly developed and extended, reaching today an excellent level. A sustained exchange of visits at all levels, and especially the meetings of our presidents, helped us know and understand each other, thus permanently consolidating the Romania “Azerbaijani bilateral relations. The catalyzing role of the political dialogue at the highest level was demonstrated by the density of presidential visits and we trust that that the upcoming visit of President Ilham Aliyev to Romania shall reconfirm this. It will be the fourth official visit of President Ilham Aliyev to Romania and it is our hope that this visit will further strengthen the strategic partnership between our countries, occasioning the signing of new agreements that shall complete the already existing bilateral legal framework. These agreements have a special relevance since they are fully harmonized with the requirements of the European Union, thus also stimulating a closer cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU.
Regarding today“s priorities, our task now is to bring bilateral economic cooperation to the peaking level of our political relations. I trust that the 4th meeting of the Joint Economic Commission to be held this year in Baku will give the necessary impetus to our economic relations. The economic crisis is at our doors, and only closer cooperation between countries can help confront it. In the globalizing world of today it is only together that we can succeed.
— What was the purpose of your visit to Baku? What can you say about the NATO Seminar you have attended?
— The visit provided me an excellent “and I would dare say” also an expected opportunity to have consultations with my counterpart in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan on security issues. I also met other high level Azerbaijani officials and we discussed the present stage of the bilateral relations. This means that we analyzed all dossiers, we properly marked the stage reached by each of them and decided together what should be done for a better cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
The consultations on security issues came first on the agenda of my visit. In this framework we had an exchange of views on international and regional security issues of mutual interest. Special attention was paid to the threats affecting the stability of the wider Black Sea region, such as organized crime, money laundering, drug trafficking or illegal migration.
I also took advantage of my presence in Baku to attend a NATO seminar entitled: “Energy Security: Challenges and Opportunities,” where I delivered a keynote speech.
— The South Caucasus is perceived as a region of instability, mainly due to the protracted conflicts. Which is the position of Romania regarding the solving of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?
— Romania is a European Union member state that shares and promotes the position of the EU, to support the solving of this conflict in particular and of other regional conflicts by peaceful means. We attach special importance in this respect to the role of sustained, effective dialogue between the two involved sides, under the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group, as the most appropriate framework for solving the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. This does not exclude other initiatives aimed at bringing the two sides nearer to a final long lasting solution, but these efforts must be complementary to the main framework mentioned before. The long fifteen years of negotiations under the Minsk Group and the experience thus accumulated can hardly be discarded or challenged. The EU bodies and the European Parliament are making periodic assessments of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Romania takes active part in these processes, strongly supporting a solution with the observance of the principles of international law, including those related to sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders, in accordance with the UN relevant resolutions, always claiming the supremacy of the international law principles, especially on territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders.
Peaceful settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is strongly supported by Romania, as one can see that the situation on the ground can easily evolve from a relatively frozen conflict to a new
Romania“s position, as reiterated on numerous occasions, and especially clearly expressed by the President of Romania, Mr. Traian Basescu, both in Baku and in other capitals, is that, with no exception, we ask for full observance of the international law principles, including those related to territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders. At the same time, we cannot under-estimate the increasing number of almost daily military incidents on the front-line, which not only raise the number of causalities, but also make the negotiation process more difficult.
While carefully following the developments, especially the intensification of diplomatic negotiations at presidential level, we hope that these efforts will bring new positive results. That is why I consider that the moment of a final settlement cannot be far away. Therefore we have to think ahead, to the post-conflict period.
— Romania has recently taken over the attributions of NATO Contact Point Embassy (CPE) in Azerbaijan. Which are your expectations under these circumstances? What new elements can Romania bring in its new position as NATO CPE in the relation with Azerbaijan?
— According to Allied internal procedures, this year Romania took over from Turkey the position of NATO Contact Point Embassy in Azerbaijan for a
I am convinced that this responsibility represents not only a good opportunity to help strengthening the relations between Azerbaijan and NATO, but also a new impetus to deepening relations between Romania and Azerbaijan, and a catalyst to our partnership contribution to regional security and stability.
While Romania is a relatively new member of the NATO, with a history in the Alliance of only five years, I believe that these circumstances also represent an advantage, as we have been able to know both from the outside and from the inside how things work in relation to NATO. We know, maybe better than older members, what interests and aspirations Eastern European countries like Azerbaijan have in their cooperation and partnership with NATO.
No doubt, our efforts will also contribute to the success in Azerbaijan of the second Individual Partnership Action Plan and to a better coordination of the efforts made by NATO and supported by Azerbaijan to stabilize the political situation in Afghanistan.
I must underline that, as a NATO Contact Point Embassy we do not have any operational tasks; we are not an Embassy of NATO. In fact NATO does not have embassies anywhere in the world, but needs the logistical support of the member states“embassies in partner countries, and this is exactly what we do: we help NATO, through our diplomatic mission in Baku, in all its activities here.
Among other things, we organize logistic support for NATO officials visiting Azerbaijan, facilitate meetings, organize conferences and seminars, political discussions and debates on NATO issues. In fulfilling these tasks we count extensively on the full support of the Azerbaijani authorities and on the help of all the Embassies of NATO member states represented in Baku.
One of our most important tasks is to contribute to better informing the Azerbaijani public opinion about the missions and objectives of NATO. In our capacity as Contact Point Embassy we intend to communicate not only with the political circles and officials, but also with ordinary citizens in this country.
I believe that journalists, opinion makers, think tankers, as well as schools and universities, libraries and even business establishments in Azerbaijan can be instrumental in helping us making NATO an organization which is better known and understood in your country.
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