Monday, March 18 2024 15:22

ArmInfo.Below is a statement by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg following his meeting with  President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. 

"This is my first visit to Azerbaijan, to Baku, as Secretary General  of NATO but it's not my first visit to Baku, because I had the  privilege and the honour of coming here several times in the 1990s as  Minister of Energy of Norway. I have fond memories of those visits,  not least because then I saw the vibrant and strong energy sector  being developed in this country and it's therefore great to be back  also to have the opportunity to discuss energy security, because  energy matters for our security and I welcome that Azerbaijan is  developing closer and closer ties with several NATO Allies and that  your country is playing a more and more important role in delivering  gas but also in the future power, electricity, to key NATO Allies in  Europe and therefore you play an important role for the resilience of  our societies.

"I'm also welcome to be here in Baku as Secretary General of NATO  because, as you mentioned, Azerbaijan is a long-time partner of NATO.  We have worked together for many years. We appreciate very much your  contributions to our KFOR mission in Kosovo, but also of course, your  presence, your contributions to our mission in Afghanistan over many  years, was extremely important. And you're absolutely right that one  of the last troops to leave Afghanistan was actually Azeri troops  because you were responsible for protection of the airport, which was  a key task in the evacuation of the NATO presence in in Afghanistan.  So this demonstrates that our partnership is about political dialogue  but also about practical cooperation. And we welcome that. 

"Then, of course, peace in this region is extremely important for the  people, the countries in the region, but it also matters for the  Black Sea region and for North Atlantic security, and therefore peace  and stability is not only important here, but for security more  broadly. Armenia and Azerbaijan now have an opportunity to achieve an  enduring peace after years of conflict. I appreciate what you say  about that you are closer to a peace agreement than ever before. And  I can just encourage you to seize this opportunity to reach a lasting  peace agreement with Armenia. 

"Then it is also important to highlight that of course, when we look  at the broader region, Ukraine is a Black Sea country. It's a country  which is a partner of NATO, and Russia continues to conduct a war of  aggression against Ukraine. NATO Allies are extremely concerned about  the consequences of the ongoing war and NATO Allies provide support  to Ukraine. I welcome the much needed support also Azerbaijan  provides to Ukraine. Also when it comes to humanitarian aid, which is  much needed, but more support is needed because the situation in  Ukraine is extremely difficult. 

"Then, I will say that we very much look forward to Azerbaijan  hosting the next COP meeting. Climate change matters for security and  therefore it matters for NATO, climate change is a crisis multiplier.  And we see the effects of climate change all over the world, also  here in Azerbaijan. And therefore the challenge is that the world  needs energy, but at the same time, we need to fight global warming.  We need to reconcile the need for energy and environment. And not  only is Azerbaijan exporting natural gas but you are also now  investing in alternative energies. You updated me on the great  potential on also to what you do when it comes to building out hydro  power, but also wind power, and solar power, and also connecting then  your power production to the European market. So the COP 29 will be  an important milestone. It is important for everyone concerned about  climate change but also important for our security because those  issues are closely interlinked. 

"So thank you so much for hosting me and my delegation here tonight  and tomorrow. I look forward to the meetings and the discussions."