Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov read the letter of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan at the 18th Eurasian Economic Summit

The 18th Eurasian Economic Summit started today. Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov, who attended the event, read out the congratulatory letter by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to the participants at the opening of the summit.

It's written in the letter as follows:

Dear participants of the Summit!

Allow me to sincerely greet all of you and convey my congratulations on the commencement of the work of the next Eurasian Economic Summit, organized by the Marmara Group Strategic and Social Research Foundation. I highly appreciate the contribution of the Foundation to the promotion of peace and dialogue and to the expansion of regional and global cooperation.

The Eurasian Economic Summits are of special importance for the development of economic and political relations and the deepening of ties between the peoples of the Eurasian region. It is commendable that these traditional meetings, which have become one of the major platforms of regional cooperation, always focus on new challenges of our time and on current development trends. A clear example of this is the agenda of the 23rd Summit:  it includes a broad discussion of the main priorities of the post-pandemic period and the issues of terrorism, which pose a great threat on an international scale.

For many years, Azerbaijan has been consistently working together with the countries of the region, including brotherly Turkey, to strengthen relations in Eurasia, to direct the economic potential and natural resources of the countries to the welfare of the peoples and development objectives. We are pleased with the major steps taken by Turkey in the field of energy security as a manifestation of its growing power.

Unfortunately, there are factors threatening stability in the Eurasian region and the unresolved Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict stands out in this regard. The reckless Armenian leadership intensified military provocations against Azerbaijan, also taking the global fight against the pandemic as an opportunity. The provocation committed on September 27 is only a continuation of the terror and aggression pursued by Armenia at the state level for more than thirty years.

I reiterate that Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan, our ancient historical land. The conflict must be resolved only within the framework of the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and inviolability of internationally recognized borders. Brotherly Turkey, which has made quite a worthy contribution to the preservation of peace and tranquillity in the modern world, is, as always, in solidarity with us, expressing its resolute position and supporting our cause to liberate our lands from occupation. I once again express my deep gratitude to the President of Turkey, my dear brother Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the people of Turkey for this unparalleled support that has given us great moral strength. The victory is ours. Karabakh is Azerbaijan!

I believe that the exchange of views and discussions you will hold at this meeting will be useful in determining new prospects for mutual cooperation.

I wish success to the work of the Summit.