Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov received the delegation led by David McAllister, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament

David McAllister highly appreciated the meeting with H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and fruitful discussions with him.

Minister Elmar Mammadyarov expressed his hope that the visit of European Parliament members and such form of dialogue contributes to furthering the cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU.

The sides have had broad discussions on the current level of relations and reviewed the prospects of EU-Azerbaijan cooperation. They also exchanged views on the negotiation process on Azerbaijan-European Union strategic partnership agreement.

Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov briefed members of European Parliament about the transport projects launched with Azerbaijan’s initiative and participation, such as North-South, East-West corridors and their comparative advantages. He also mentioned the Southern Gas Corridor and TANAP/TAP projects as its crucial components. Noting the successful cooperation in energy field between Azerbaijan and the EU he referred to the strategic partnership agreement on energy.

Touching upon Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict E.Mammadyarov stressed the importance of non-selective and unified attitude with respect to the resolution of protracted conflicts based on the principles of respecting to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states within their internationally recognized borders, as it is enshrined in the Global Strategy of EU. He also added that the attempts to alter the internationally recognized borders of states by use force are unacceptable.

Minister Elmar Mammadyarov answered the questions of delegation members on various issues, especially negotiations process on the settlement of Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.