AZERBAIJAN FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS HIS LATVIAN COUNTERPART
Visiting Riga Azerbaijan Foreign Affairs Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met here today with his Latvian counterpart Maris Riekstins, Spokesman to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Khazar Ibrahim told AZERTAC.
He said the parties discussed issues concerning a meeting of the Azerbaijan-Latvia intergovernmental commission scheduled for January, 2008 and the Baltic state’s Defense Minister’s expected visit to Baku.
Mammadyarov pointed out the importance of participation of businessmen at the commission’s meeting, noting that high-level political relations between the two countries should be reinforced by effective economic cooperation.
Riekstins said his country was very interested in cooperation with Azerbaijan in a variety of fields including energy and Euro-Atlantic integration.
The Azerbaijan’s top diplomat handed a letter of invitation from President Ilham Aliyev to the President of Latvia, and also invited his counterpart Riekstins to visit Azerbaijan.
Touching upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh problem, the Minister thanked Latvia for supporting territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, noting there is no room for the fourth state in the South Caucasus. “The new government of Armenia must realize it and take a constructive stance in the negotiations. There is no other way to resolve the conflict,” he added.
The Ministers also agreed that the two countries’ experts should prepare twelve agreements on cooperation in various areas, including in those concerning legal, visa and financial policy.
The meeting was followed by a press-conference.
A delegation from Latvia was invited to attend the “GUAM-Transit” conference scheduled for April 29-30 in Baku.
Later the same day, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov left Riga for Estonian capital Tallinn.
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