POLITICS
FINLAND KEEN ON DEVELOPMENT OF RELATIONS WITH AZERBAIJAN, PERTTI SALOLAINEN
Visiting Azerbaijan, Pertti Salolainen, chairman of the Finnish Parliamentary Committee for Foreign Affairs, said in his interview to AZERTAC correspondent that his country is keen on development of relations with Azerbaijan.
Mr. Salolainen said Azerbaijan and Finland have good level of relations, however, he added, these countries need to further develop and expand these relations. He pointed out that he would discuss this issue during his visit.
He went on to say that the aim of his visit is to make necessary preparations for the Finnish Foreign Minister’s visit to Azerbaijan slated for February this year.
“This year, Finland chairs the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. One of the key objectives of this organization is to assist member countries to hold free and fair elections. This year, presidential elections will be held in Azerbaijan. We will discuss these issues as well.”
Asked about the steps Finland is going to undertake as current OSCE chair-country for resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, he said they would also discuss security and regional questions at their meetings.
“We support OSCE Minsk Group’s efforts to achieve peaceful solution to the conflict. We hope the conflict will be solved peacefully”, he said.