Nato az indd

153
www.aliyevheritage.org
rian and told my opinion to him, too. 
There is a big problem, which aff ects the entire region. We must solve it. If 
the belligerent parties can not solve this problem, economic, social and military 
problems around it will continue. However, the solution depends mainly on 
the belligerent parties; I hope that you will reach an agreement very soon. 
I think that the presidents of Azerbaij an and Armenia have an experience 
and a will to clarify the correct position and solve it. The solution of the prob-
lem would be a nice example for the Southern Caucasus and Europe. 
Other organizations, such as OSCE, the Minsk Group can help fi nd the solu-
tion. The visit of the Russian President Vladimir Putin to Azerbaij an last week 
gladdened me. I appreciate his purpose to help you as a mediator. Even though 
NATO is not engaged in this confl ict, it will support the eff orts on the solution 
of the confl ict and lead a monitoring on observation of the treaty later. We`ll 
discuss this issue later; but I just want to note that I evaluate the signifi cance of 
this issue for both Azerbaij an and Armenia, the entire region and Europe. 
(Heydar Aliyev thanked George Robertson and presented him a book on the 
cooperation between Azerbaij an and NATO, titled “For Peace and Security” 
published in English. )
George Robertson: Mr. President, I shall look through it. I hope that the next 
book will tell about our further cooperation. The book contains also my pho-
tos as the new Secretary - General of NATO. Thank you very much. It is a nice 
present. 
AZERBAIJ AN – NATO: ROAD BEGINNING FROM PARTNERSHIP

---

154
www.aliyevheritage.org
Heydar Aliyev: Distinguished Mr. President! 
Distinguished Mr. Secretary General! 
You are welcome to Azerbaij an. I am very glad to meet you. I greet you in 
Azerbaij an cordially. 
I know that you had here many meetings. Mr. Murtuz Aleskerov, chairman 
of the Azerbaij ani parliament, has invited you and organized your visit. He 
has informed me on your meetings. I am very happy that you, the president 
of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, show such an interest in Azerbaij an 
and get acquainted with Azerbaij an for a short term. Please, I am listening to 
you. 
Rafael Estrella: Mr. President, fi rst of all I would like to express my gratitude 
for receiving us today. It is a great honor for me to be in your country. I am very 
glad that I have accepted the invitation of the chairman of your parliament Mr. 
Aleskerov and arrived here. Our current visit is a proof of the continuation of 
the relations between the Azerbaij ani parliament and the NATO Parliamentary 
Assembly. 
The Azerbaij ani delegation led by Mr. Aleskerov very actively participates 
in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, and they informed us about Azerbaij an. 
They take part in all seminars, meetings and in exchanging the opinions car-
ried out by the assembly. 
On the eve of our visit in your country in these days, we held a number 
of important discussions. We have conducted an exchange of opinions on the 
present realities of Azerbaij an. We also discussed a number of problems with 
which your country has faced. As it is known, the most important problems 
among them is the problem of numerous refugees, people expelled from the 
places of their permanent residence within the limits of the country, in terri-
tory of Azerbaij an and also the absence of any promotion in the sett lement of 
the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. Unfortunately, the international community, 
international organizations have been insuffi
  ciently active in this question, and 
resolutions of the United Nations Organization have not been executed up to 
now. 
From the conversation of the Azerbaij ani President 
Heydar Aliyev the President of the NATO Parlia-
mentary Assembly Rafael Estrella and Secretary 
General of this Organization Simon Lunn
Presidential Palace, January 18, 2002
AZERBAIJ AN – NATO: ROAD BEGINNING FROM PARTNERSHIP

---

155
www.aliyevheritage.org
The Azerbaij ani delegation in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly constantly 
directs the att ention of other delegations in the Parliamentary Assembly to this 
question and tries to convey the realities of Azerbaij an to the world. 
Mr. President, I want to say that one of the most valuable moments in our as-
sembly is openness, dissemination of information, and your delegation makes 
suffi
  cient eff orts for it and convey the information on the processes on going 
in the country in due time. Owing to your delegation, we become aware of the 
processes on going in the Southern Caucasus, including the Central Asia. 
As a result of the cooperation with your delegation and the information re-
ceived from it, we build our relations with other countries. For instance, I can 
say that during the exchange of views with Russia, we called them for more 
constructive work in the Southern Caucasus. We highly appreciate your past 
eff orts, and in the meetings representing various political parties in the parlia-
ment we always declare that we highly assess the western orientation of Azer-
baij an and its devotion to freedom, democracy and supremacy of law. 
Yesterday and today we held discussions connected with Azerbaij an and the 
situation which has developed around Azerbaij an. We know that your visit to 
Russia and then to Iran is planned one of these days. 
We know that both these neighboring countries assume extremely great 
value for your region, and your country. At the same time, we welcome your 
participation in GUUAM. We know that Azerbaij an is a country playing the 
leading role in this organization. As you see, we have paid more att ention to all 
these questions, and exchanged views in our joint talks. 
Mr. President, we wish to express our gratitude to you for the hospitality. 
Heydar Aliyev: Thank you. 
I understood from your words that you know everything about Azerbaij an. 
Therefore, I consider that there is no necessity to give you additional informa-
tion.
First, I am glad that, as you said, our delegation actively participates in the 
NATO Parliamentary Assembly and conveys necessary information on Azer-
baij an to the members of Parliamentary Assembly, to all of you and exchanges 
views on the problems worrying us. 
Secondly, for a short time during your visit, you have worked very eff ec-
tively, studied Azerbaij an`s present condition and you know everything. In 
brief, I can say that Azerbaij an recently celebrated the tenth  anniversary of its 
independence. Independence is a decisive factor for us, and we shall do our 
best for strengthening our independence in future. 
As an independent state, we are building a  legal, democratic, and secular 
state in Azerbaij an, we conduct reforms and try to develop Azerbaij an in all 
AZERBAIJ AN – NATO: ROAD BEGINNING FROM PARTNERSHIP

---