Welcoming the Secretary General of NATO to Azerbaijan on 17 March, President Ilham Aliyev said that the NATO-Azerbaijan partnership has more than 30 years of good partnership. Azerbaijan participated in peacekeeping operations in Kosovo and Afghanista and is today modernizing its defense capability demonstrating a high level of professionalism.
During many years of our discussions, we always talked about the occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia. But now, for more than three years, Azerbaijan restored its territorial integrity and sovereignty during the Second Karabakh War of 2020 and last September’s anti-terror operation. So, full sovereignty over the territory of the country has been restored, and this is a good demonstration of how protracted conflicts can be resolved. The conflict was resolved by military-political means. Azerbaijan used our right for self-defense based on the UN Charter.
The President also discussed the issue of energy security with Stolternberg. Today, Azerbaijan is exporting natural gas to eight countries, six of which are member states of NATO, and two are partners to NATO. The European Commission calls Azerbaijan a reliable partner and a pan-European gas supplier. This is, of course, a big advantage and also a big responsibility.
Azerbaijan has been selected as the host country for COP29. This is a sign of recognition of our efforts in the green transition, and the President invited Mr Stoltrnberg to visit Baku this November to be part of the conference.
In reply Mr Stoltenberg welcomed that Azerbaijan was developing closer ties with several NATO allies and playing a more and more important role in delivering gas, and in the future electricity to key NATO allies in Europe. Azerbaijan plays an important role for the resilience of our societies. Azerbaijan is a long time partner of NATO. We have worked together for many years. We appreciate very much your contribution to our KFOR mission in Kosovo, but also your contributions to our mission in Afghanistan. This demonstrates that our partnership is not only about political dialogue but also about practical cooperation.
It is also important to highlight that when you look at the broader region, Ukraine is a Black Sea country. It is a country that is a partner of NATO, and Russia continues to conduct war aggression against Ukraine. NATO allies are extremely concerned about the consequences of the ongoing war, and NATO allies provide support for Ukraine. I welcome the much-needed support that Azerbaijan provides to Ukraine. Also, when it comes to humanitarian aid, which is much needed, more support is needed because the situation in Ukraine is extremely difficult.
He said that he looked 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. 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. Azerbaijan is not only exporting natural gas, but also now investing in alternative energy. So, the COP29 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 linked.
