Baku, October 14, AZERTAC

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received the credentials of Julien de Fraipont, the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Belgium.

The ambassador presented his credentials to the head of state.

President Ilham Aliyev had a conversation with the ambassador.

The head of state expressed hope for the development of bilateral relations and wished the ambassador success in his endeavors.

Expressing his honor in serving as an ambassador to Azerbaijan, Julien de Fraipont said that he would spare no effort in developing bilateral relations in various areas, including economic and political fields, during his tenure.

Conveying his congratulations on Azerbaijan’s hosting of COP29, the ambassador described this event as a global call to address climate change.

He also stated that Belgium would be represented at a high level at this event. The ambassador emphasized that COP29 would provide an opportunity for Belgian companies operating in the fields of energy transition and climate change to showcase their capabilities and achievements in the "green energy" sector.

The diplomat highlighted the importance of regional stability to Belgium and expressed appreciation for Azerbaijan's humanitarian aid to Ukraine. He also indicated Belgium's interest in regional stability concerning Armenia-Azerbaijan relations. The ambassador noted the recent progress in the normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations and emphasized Belgium's encouragement of the steps taken in this direction. He reiterated Belgium's continued support for Azerbaijan and the activities of ANAMA in addressing the challenges posed by landmines.

As one of the founding member states of the European Union, Julien de Fraipont expressed Belgium's interest in cooperation between Azerbaijan and the European Union in the fields of energy transition, climate change, economy, and trade.

The head of state acknowledged the potential for further developing bilateral relations and stressed the benefits of meetings between the foreign ministers of both countries for discussing cooperation agendas.

President Ilham Aliyev pointed out that the preparations for COP29 are in the final stages. Noting that there was less than a year to prepare for this event, the head of state emphasized that the pre-COP event demonstrated the successful implementation of these efforts. President Ilham Aliyev stated that during Azerbaijan's presidency of COP in the coming year, the country is determined to play a bridging role between various parts of the world.

The head of state also noted that the transition to green energy is an important issue on the broad agenda. “Considering that part of the planned projects has already been implemented, the share of renewables in the energy sector will significantly increase in the coming years, and we are ready to cooperate with Belgian companies on this track,” President Ilham Aliyev underscored.

Touching upon the Azerbaijan-European Union relations, President Ilham Aliyev noted that Brussels has been a venue for successful negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, supported by Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, and that significant progress has indeed been made there. “However, unfortunately, the Armenian side decided not to continue the process known as the Brussels process. But anyway, it was a positive process, with good results and with a very good experience.”

President Ilham Aliyev noted that, in the current situation, more attention is focused on the bilateral level. The head of state emphasized that all provisions of the peace treaty hold equal value and cannot be separated from one another. President Ilham Aliyev stated that, in this regard, he considers the Armenian government's strange proposal to "sign what has been agreed upon so far and leave the unagreed provisions for the next stages" completely unrealistic, emphasizing that he is not aware of any precedent for such an approach.

The head of state noted that during the occupation of Azerbaijan's territories, the so-called "Madrid process and principles" were in place, with a key provision being that nothing would be agreed upon until all matters were resolved. This was the position held by then-OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, and remains Azerbaijan's stance. Unfortunately, some former Minsk Group members have changed their positions and now support Armenia's unrealistic proposals. President Ilham Aliyev pointed out that Armenia often puts forward these proposals to portray a desire for peace, even though they are aware that these suggestions are unacceptable. Nonetheless, the negotiation process continues. The President recalled that from 1992 to 2020, during the 28 years of occupation, no progress was achieved. Now, after two years of talks, patience and realism are required to achieve lasting peace in the South Caucasus.

The head of state also noted that the European Union should preserve neutrality on Armenia-Azerbaijan peace track, which was always the case, adding the EU had never been active during the occupation period. The President pointed out that back then numerous approaches to EU and other European institutions were met with the response that the Minsk Group was responsible, and the EU had no involvement. “However, the EU seems to be actively involved now. Unfortunately, we see that some figures in Brussels, at EU headquarters took sides. This is counterproductive. This only creates mistrust and isolates EU from normalization process. My recommendation, if I may afford to make this recommendation for the sake of continued cooperation between EU and Azerbaijan, would be not to follow the footsteps of France and not to find themselves under France's influence, because France's policy was absolutely destructive, and remains absolutely destructive, with respect to Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization process.

And the last point on the EU-Azerbaijan, which increased certain mistrust, was the way how the so-called “European observation mission” on our border was prolonged without any agreement or even consulting with Azerbaijan. Why it was necessary?! Because Azerbaijan agreed in October 2022 in Prague that the mission was supposed to stay a couple of months with a limited number of retired military officers. But when the mission was prolonged, they did not consult with us,” the Azerbaijani leader noted, adding that discussions are in progress for further extension.

The head of state went on to say that the behavior of the members of this mission, the so-called binocular diplomacy, was absolutely unacceptable and was beyond any standards of normal political culture and Azerbaijan will continue to raise these issues in its communications with EU.

Belgium’s ambassador thanked the President for this information and expressed his commitment to developing relations, emphasizing the potential for expanding cooperation in various fields between the two countries.

The Azerbaijani leader highlighted that the EU-Azerbaijan agenda is quite broad including energy, transportation, green energy, trade. He pointed out that the EU is Azerbaijan’s main trading partner and it would be very regretful if there is a setback towards the EU-Azerbaijan cooperation regarding the Armenia-Azerbaijan track. The President expressed his hope that bilateral relations with the EU will continue to develop independently of the Armenia-Azerbaijan agenda.