"AN INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT PARTNER"

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's working visit to Germany, which was completed last week, fully lived up to its status of state visit. The meetings in Berlin demonstrated that interest in deepening strategic cooperation in all areas between Azerbaijan and Germany, as the leading countries in the South Caucasus and the European Union respectively, was independent of the political and economic upheavals sweeping Europe.

The economy and security were the main topics discussed in Aliyev's meetings in Germany. In the lead up to the highlight of the visit - a meeting with Chancellor Merkel - the Azerbaijani president discussed issues of bilateral cooperation not only with Foreign Minister Steinmeier, but also with German business leaders, members of parliament, public figures, and representatives of leading think tanks. Thus, Aliyev met Chairman of the Munich Security Conference Wolfgang Friedrich Ischinger, members of the German-Azerbaijani Forum, and chairs and members of German parliamentary committees from the Christian Democratic Union, Christian Social Union, the Social Democratic Party and the Green Party.

Aliyev informed meeting participants about Azerbaijan's position on resolving the Karabakh conflict. The president stressed the importance of resolving the conflict based on the norms and principles of international law that respect the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

Economic relations between Azerbaijan and Germany, cooperation in the field of energy, information technology, medicine, and the recent participation of German companies in the Azerbaijani economy were also discussed.

There was also an extensive exchange of views on issues related to inter-parliamentary relations, cooperation with international organizations, including the Council of Europe and the European Union, and participation in the "Eastern Partnership" programme.

Germany's vision of future relations with Azerbaijan was unequivocally stated by Chancellor Angela Merkel who described the country as "an increasingly important partner".

Energy security is the main focus of the talks going on between Europe and Azerbaijan, Aliyev said following talks with the German chancellor. The president remarked that projects being proposed by Azerbaijan are redrawing Europe's energy map. The European continent's energy security will soon be guaranteed in part by Azerbaijan. That is why in 2012, the TANAP [Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline] project got underway, and in 2013, TAP [Trans Adriatic Pipeline] was chosen as the primary export route, and at the end of last year, ground was broken on the Southern Gas Corridor. Aliyev stressed that in order to ensure the timely implementation of all these projects initiated by Azerbaijan, there needed to be closer cooperation between the republic and the European Union. These issues will be among those discussed at the first advisory council for the Southern Gas Corridor, which Azerbaijan is organizing and which will be held in Baku in February.

It stands to reason that the successful development of bilateral relations between Baku and Berlin is the driving force behind cooperation between Azerbaijan and the European Union. Speaking on economic ties between Azerbaijan and Germany, the president stressed that he supports the activities of numerous German companies in the country. "I think that in the future, German companies - be they contractors or investors - will be able to do even more in Azerbaijan. If we consider that the Azerbaijani economy is growing rapidly, that many infrastructure projects are being implemented, then, of course, German companies will continue to be successful in Azerbaijan," said Aliyev.

Angela Merkel in turn spoke about the potential for deepening economic relations between the two countries whose current trade volume stood at 2.5bn euros. The chancellor also stated that German companies could help Azerbaijan update its infrastructure, inject additional investments and make an overall contribution to the diversification of the country's economy.

The German chancellor confirmed that one of the issues that came up in her talks with Ilham Aliyev was the development of democracy in Azerbaijan. "Of course, there are some critical human rights issues that stand out. But I think that the president of Azerbaijan and I are in agreement that we intend to further intensify cooperation, further strengthen ties with the German Academic Exchange Service [DAAD], GTZ, KfW and other organizations. True, there are differences of opinion on certain issues, but this is normal," said Merkel.

President Aliyev stressed that every country has problems, including Azerbaijan. "What matters is how these problems are resolved, and what the government's intentions are. In Azerbaijan, no one is persecuted or detained because of their opinions. I want to say once again that freedom of speech is fully protected in Azerbaijan; we have hundreds of news agencies. I would like to reiterate that in a country where there is a free and independent Internet, free speech cannot be stifled," he said.

Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani pre-sident's visit to Germany included discussion not only of the two countries' determination to increase bilateral cooperation both economically and politically, but also included important statements by the German chancellor on an important issue for Azerbaijan - Nagornyy Karabakh.

The concluding press conference demonstrated that Germany's earlier statements on Karabakh were not simply a diplomatic gesture, but that Berlin was seriously interested in seeing not just a rapid stabilization of the situation in the South Caucasus, but was also willing to make a personal contribution towards achieving this goal. As the German chancellor stated, Germany, already a member of the OSCE Minsk Group, aims to become a mediator in the conflict. "We believe that the Council of Europe, the European Union can take initiative in this direction and make a contribution towards resolving the conflict. In this regard, Azerbaijan will hold talks with the European Commission," she said.

The chancellor noted that Germany is a member of the OSCE Minsk Group and supports negotiations between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia under the mediation of the group's co-chair countries France, Russia and the United States. "We see Mr President Aliyev meeting his Armenian counterpart, holding talks and negotiations. We believe that there is only one possible outcome for this conflict - peace. Frequent violations of the ceasefire are, of course, not a good thing. I think that Russia is playing a certain role in this. And to choose the expression carefully - I think, in this context, Russia plays no small part, and Russia and Armenia could act together here. Therefore, as you know, we do not have double standards," said Merkel.

Such statements by the German leader can only be welcomed. Germany has always shown a genuine interest in solving this problem, as evidenced by repeated statements from the Bundestag that can be regarded as support for Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. The crisis in Ukraine, which grew into a real war, would lead one to believe that the Karabakh issue has once again been relegated to second place in the minds of German diplomats. German peacekeeping efforts to stabilize the situation in Ukraine are being led by Chancellor Merkel personally, and this work takes up a significant portion of her schedule, so it would be difficult in such circumstances to ask the German government to deal with another conflict on the eastern borders of Europe.

However, these fears proved to be unfounded. At the end of last year, Germany made it clear that the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict continued to remain at the centre of its attention. On 12 December 2014, State Secretary of the Federal Foreign Office Stephan Steinlein met the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Pierre Andrieu (France), Igor Popov (Russia), James Warlick (USA), as well as the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk. The official website of the German Foreign Ministry revealed that they discussed the possibility of a political solution to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which has lasted for more than 20 years and has seen growing tensions, the establishment of trust between the two sides, and the greater involvement of the EU in the settlement process, the report said.

Of greatest significance was the fact that Berlin once again confirmed the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia. "Since 1992, the OSCE Minsk Group has spearheaded negotiations for a political solution to the conflict over Nagornyy Karabakh, which is occupied by Armenia and which belongs to Azerbaijan according to international law. The co-chairs are conducting secret talks on this issue with the parties to the conflict, Armenia and Azerbaijan. In recent months, numerous negotiations have been conducted with the participation of the presidents of both countries. At the same time, 2014 saw an increase in the number of deaths on the frontline, and there was also an incident involving an Armenian military helicopter that was shot down by Azerbaijan," the report said.

This statement from the German government on its intention to work towards a resolution to the Karabakh conflict raises hopes. Baku openly reminded the West that the occupation of one-fifth of Azerbaijan's territory for more than two decades deserved as much if not more attention than Ukraine's territorial problem of less than a year. Perhaps that is why President Aliyev, speaking in Berlin on the need to resolve the conflict on the basis of norms and principles of international law, placed special emphasis on the fact that there should be a unified approach to addressing the issue of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. In other words, the same approach that Europe takes with respect to the conflicts in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

Will Germany's offer to mediate a resolution to the Karabakh conflict be well received? Only time will tell, but the principles for which this country - the indisputable leader of the EU - stands concerning the violation of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity are already laudable.

As well-known German journalist and publicist Richard Kessler told R+, Germany, as the EU's leading country that survived several wars itself and now possesses strategic interests in Azerbaijan, could and should have its say in the resolution of the Karabakh problem: "Azerbaijan is the most important player in the Caucasus region. Over 70 per cent of the region's economic output comes from this country. Germany should support Azerbaijan in its efforts to resolve the conflict with Armenia and in its demands for the complete withdrawal of all troops from the occupied territories. We need a peaceful solution to the conflict. And we should not rule out sanctions against Armenia," said Kessler.