Vilnius, May 22, AZERTAC

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda have made press statements.

First, the Lithuanian President made a press statement.

Statement by President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda

- Your Excellency Mr. President,

Dear guests.

Today I am welcoming you to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. A year ago, within the framework of my visit to Azerbaijan, we started important discussions and decided to strengthen our relations in terms of bilateral cooperation and in the fields of economy and education. I am sure that this visit will add a new positive dynamic to the relations of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Lithuania.

President Aliyev and I will open the second Lithuanian-Azerbaijani business forum today. I am sure that this platform will provide ample opportunities in the economic sector. At the same time, agreements on cooperation between Lithuania and Azerbaijan in the fields of environment, youth and law enforcement were signed today. This will give an important impetus to the development of our bilateral relations.

Since 2006, Lithuania has participated in international development projects together with Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is a partner of Lithuania within the European Union’s Twinning program. Also, Azerbaijan is a Lithuania’s main partner in terms of the number of projects implemented within the Eastern Partnership program.

Lithuania supports the development of partnership between the European Union and Azerbaijan. We must look for new opportunities for the development of our strategic partnership within the framework of the Eastern Partnership program. We have a positive assessment of the energy cooperation between the European Union and Azerbaijan. This cooperation has had a positive impact on the energy market of the European Union and also contributed to the energy supply of the European Union in winter months.

Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine has introduced new content to our cooperation. We must work together to prevent Russia from evading sanctions and support Ukraine to victory.

Lithuania is a supporter of a peaceful, stable and comprehensive settlement of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia through diplomatic means. Lithuania strongly supports the efforts of the European Union and our Transatlantic allies in this direction.

Your Excellency, I am sure that the bonds of friendship between our countries and peoples will continue to unite us for years to come. Thank you.

XXX

Then, the Azerbaijani leader made a press statement.

Statement by President Ilham Aliyev

- Dear Mr. President,

Dear ladies and gentlemen.

Mr. President, first of all, I would like to thank you for the invitation and for the hospitality. I am very happy to be visiting your beautiful country again.

Today, we discussed a wide range of important issues in a broad exchange of views and once again reaffirmed our strategic partnership. Last year, President Nauseda was on an official visit to Azerbaijan and this year I am paying an official visit to Lithuania. We also met in Davos earlier this year. So, this in itself shows that a very active political dialogue is being conducted between us and this dialogue is complemented with concrete results. Of course, the agreements reached at the political level have a positive effect on all other areas. We very much hope that things will go quickly in the fields of economy and trade, as well as at the political level, in the coming years. I am sure that today's business forum will be an important step in this direction.

I am sure that the joint activity of business organizations will lead to an increase in the trade turnover. I should also note that there is great interest from both sides, and a Lithuanian-Azerbaijani business forum was held in Baku as part of the official visit of President Nauseda to Azerbaijan in May last year.

Today, we also had a broad exchange of views on regional issues. I informed the President of Lithuania about the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace talks. We do hope that peace negotiations will eventually bring long-term peace to the Caucasus although the lands of Azerbaijan were under Armenian occupation for many years, for about 30 years. As a result of this occupation, one million Azerbaijanis were displaced from their native lands, approximately 20 percent of our territories were under occupation. In the occupied territories, almost the entire infrastructure and buildings, including historical sites, were destroyed by the invaders. We believe that the signing of a peace treaty is inevitable and are trying to make constructive efforts to achieve this goal. Of course, this peace agreement should be based on international norms and principles.

European Union-Azerbaijan relations play an important role in our bilateral cooperation with Lithuania, and we are grateful to Lithuania for its efforts to develop these relations. Two months after President Nauseda visited Azerbaijan, a Memorandum of Understanding on strategic partnership in the field of energy was signed between the European Commission and Azerbaijan in Baku, and this memorandum is being successfully implemented. Very serious steps are being taken regarding the transportation of Azerbaijani natural gas to European markets. The volume of transported, i.e. exported gas is increasing year by year and will continue to increase.

We have also exchanged views on the development of renewable energy in Lithuania and Azerbaijan. We confirmed that we are moving in this direction almost in parallel to each other. Both Lithuania and Azerbaijan are attaching great importance to this field, and I believe that bilateral cooperation in this field will be possible in the near future.

Of course, our countries have great responsibilities for creating even more comfortable transport and communication opportunities on the Eurasian continent, which connects our countries and continents in general. We agreed that relevant institutions would seriously deal with this matter because this is necessitated by the new geopolitical realities emerging in the world.

The volume of transit cargo passing through the territory of Azerbaijan is increasing year after year and will continue to increase. Our modern infrastructure makes that possible. Transportation routes connecting the Caspian Sea and the South Caucasus with the Baltic Sea countries are also well known. Simply put, we will achieve successful cooperation in this field by implementing such connectivity projects through joint efforts.

All in all, I can say that the importance of the issues discussed today once again shows that Lithuania and Azerbaijan are successfully cooperating with each other as strategic partners. I am sure that this cooperation will receive another strong impetus after this visit.

Thank you very much again for the invitation and for the hospitality.