Menu
Latest
Menu
Latest
Erkin Gadirli: I fully support widening and deepening of relations between Azerbaijan and EU

Erkin Gadirli: I fully support widening and deepening of relations between Azerbaijan and EU

16 May 2017

Prominent opposition politician and thinker in Azerbaijan, Erkin Gadirli, who is a board member of the Alternative REAL Movement, welcomed ongoing negotiations between the European Union and Azerbaijan aimed at concluding a new framework agreement to regulate relations between them. Gadirli said that contacts between the EU and Azerbaijan should be deepened and widened. 

Gadirli was speaking on Monday (15 May) at the Brussels Press Club, at the heart of the European capital, as guest of the organisation LINKS (Dialogue, Analysis and Research), as part of its series "Voices and Conversations". 

In the conversation with the LINKS Director, Dr Dennis Sammut, Erkin Gadirli said that European insititutions must pay more attention to what civil society and opposition forces have to say on many issues of EU-Azerbaijan relations, and a way needs to be found that would be suitable for all sides, to include them in the dialogue. This, Gadirli said, was exactly what happened in the 1990s when the first EU-Azerbaijan agreement was being discussed, and it was then considered a useful and necessary process.

Speaking on the Karabakh conflict Gadirli said that Azerbaijan is entitled under article 51 of the UN Charter to use force to liberate its occupied territories, but war was the least desirable option, and whilst Azerbaijani society was united on a common position on the Karabakh issue, Azerbaijan society was overall peaceful and tolerant and saw the benefit of dialogue to achieve a solution.

Speaking about the domestic political situation in Azerbaijan Gadirli said that the REAL Movement will use all legal means to push forward its ideas and get its message out to the Azerbaijani public. This includes through participation in elections.

source: "Conversation with Erkin Gadirli" is part of the series Voices and Conversations, a LINKS DAR initiaive in association with commonspace.eu. Views voiced do not necessarily reflect the opinion of LINKS (DAR), commonspace.eu, or their members, partners and supporters.

Photo: Erkin Gadirli at the Brussels Press Club on Monday 15 May 2017 (c) commonspace.eu

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged
Trending

Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

9 June 2021
Borrell underlined that the European Union will make every effort to support the peace process and to remain a committed partner to the Afghan people. "Of course, we will have to take into account the evolving situation, but disengagement is not an option.  We are clear on that: there is no alternative to a negotiated political settlement, through inclusive peace talks.
Editor's choice
News
A new era of peace in the Eastern Mediterranean
Trending

A new era of peace in the Eastern Mediterranean

14 May 2024
A ground breaking meeting between the President of Turkiye, Recip Tayip Erdogan, and Greek Prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, on Monday (13 May) is being hailed as the dawn of a new era of peace in the Eastern Mediterranean. Mitsotakis was in Ankara as the guest of the Turkish leader. There are no unsolvable problems between Athens and Ankara, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, as he and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis praised the state of relations between the two neighbors while pledging to further enhance bilateral ties. "We had a constructive and positive meeting and discussed problems in Türkiye-Greece relations; We will solve problems through dialogue," Erdoğan said at a joint news conference with Mitsotakis. Erdoğan said that Ankara and Athens are committed to resolving issues via "cordial dialogue, good neighborly ties, and international law" as outlined in last year's Athens Declaration on Friendly Relations and Good-Neighborliness. Improvement of bilateral relations with Türkiye is yielding concrete and positive results, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said "I can only begin by thanking you for the warm hospitality today in Ankara, it was a fourth meeting in the last 10 months, which I believe proves that the two neighbors can now establish this approach of mutual understanding, no longer as some exception, but as a productive normality that is not negated by the known differences in our positions," Mitsotakis said. He said bilateral relations have been progressing, as agreed by the parties, on three levels: political dialogue, positive agenda and confidence-building measures. "I believe that it is a positive development in a difficult time for international peace, but also for the broader stability in our region," the Greek leader said.

Popular

Editor's choice
News
A new era of peace in the Eastern Mediterranean
Trending

A new era of peace in the Eastern Mediterranean

14 May 2024
A ground breaking meeting between the President of Turkiye, Recip Tayip Erdogan, and Greek Prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, on Monday (13 May) is being hailed as the dawn of a new era of peace in the Eastern Mediterranean. Mitsotakis was in Ankara as the guest of the Turkish leader. There are no unsolvable problems between Athens and Ankara, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, as he and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis praised the state of relations between the two neighbors while pledging to further enhance bilateral ties. "We had a constructive and positive meeting and discussed problems in Türkiye-Greece relations; We will solve problems through dialogue," Erdoğan said at a joint news conference with Mitsotakis. Erdoğan said that Ankara and Athens are committed to resolving issues via "cordial dialogue, good neighborly ties, and international law" as outlined in last year's Athens Declaration on Friendly Relations and Good-Neighborliness. Improvement of bilateral relations with Türkiye is yielding concrete and positive results, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said "I can only begin by thanking you for the warm hospitality today in Ankara, it was a fourth meeting in the last 10 months, which I believe proves that the two neighbors can now establish this approach of mutual understanding, no longer as some exception, but as a productive normality that is not negated by the known differences in our positions," Mitsotakis said. He said bilateral relations have been progressing, as agreed by the parties, on three levels: political dialogue, positive agenda and confidence-building measures. "I believe that it is a positive development in a difficult time for international peace, but also for the broader stability in our region," the Greek leader said.