Foreign Minister: A country can’t call itself democratic when it occupies 20% of territories of other country

"It is a welcome step that EU revised its Neighborhood Policy by abandoning the “one-size fits all” approach. It tried to add the concept of differentiation and tailored-made partnership, which should be based on the needs and aspirations of countries. Their own choices. Not the choice of the EU. Now Azerbaijan expects EU to pursue multiple tracks of differentiation in order to realize its own distinguished and differentiated agenda with the EU. This is how we see the future process of EaP," Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said speaking at the High-Level Ministerial Seminar on “A New Political vision for Eastern Partnership”, Report informs.

"Each partner may have different development strategies and visions which are influenced by their resources for economic growth, geostrategic locations and regional challenges. For example, Azerbaijan is the biggest investor in the EU amongst EaP partners but it has never claimed the status of 'front-runner' in EaP.

"Universal values that we cherish will definitely remain on our agenda. A country can’t call itself democratic when it occupies 20% of territories of other country and more than 1 million people become refugee and IDP.

"EaP structured dialogue is a timely exercise. But here, EU must better listen to partner countries if it wants EaP process to be attractive and alive. Security cooperation will be likely a prominent dimension in our mutual dialogue with the EU. Azerbaijan is a gateway for Europe to wider Caspian Sea and Central Asia for identifying and scaling up its efforts in addressing security challenges arising from hybrid threats, such as cybersecurity, the security of energy infrastructure, as well as preventing and countering radicalization, unresolved conflicts, violent extremism and terrorism," the Minister said.