President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by Minister for Foreign Affairs of Poland, OSCE Chairman-in-Office Zbigniew Rau.

Welcoming the delegation, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- I am pleased to see you. Thank you for coming to Azerbaijan. This is a good opportunity to discuss the important issues on our agenda. Of course, as the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, you and I will discuss the post-conflict situation in the region. At the same time, the bilateral agenda between Poland and Azerbaijan is very extensive. As you may know, we recently had a telephone conversation with President Andrzej Duda. I have very good memories of my meetings with the President in Warsaw, Baku and Davos. You are aware that we are in regular contact and the relations between our countries are a good demonstration of a strong partnership between us.

We are also grateful to Poland for its continuous support in matters of cooperation with the European Union. This process is now in full swing, and the European Union has already announced that a new meeting between the Armenian prime minister and myself will be organized by President Charles Michel. I do hope that this meeting will be productive, because there have already been several meetings and we must move towards peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia and sign a peace agreement as soon as possible. In our view, Azerbaijan has laid out the main principles of this agreement.

The conflict has already been resolved. Azerbaijan resolved it itself, and now is the time to normalize relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We are receiving certain messages from Armenian officials. As I was recently informed that one of these messages is that they consider our proposal acceptable. This is very good news, and I hope that this issue will be clarified at the meeting in Brussels.

The five principles we have initiated reflect the norms of international law and good international conduct. We are not inventing a bicycle here, so to speak. All these principles are the fundamental principles of interstate relations between any countries. Reciprocal recognition of territorial integrity and inviolability of international borders, and then the delimitation of borders – I think that peace will come to the Caucasus on this basis. We want it. We are seeing the potential for active cooperation amongst the three countries of the South Caucasus, and I think that this will be important not only for these countries but also for the wider region. Of course, all these issues need to be addressed very carefully and in a timely manner. I am very glad to have the opportunity to discuss these and other important issues with you.

President Ilham Aliyev noted that during the 30 years of occupation, the Armenians committed atrocities in the Azerbaijani lands, destroyed historical, religious, cultural sites and other buildings. The President said that the biggest problem facing the country in the liberated territories was the mines planted by the Armenians.

The head of state also informed OSCE Chairman-in-Office Zbigniew Rau that 4,000 Azerbaijanis had been missing since the first Armenia-Azerbaijan war.

Polish Foreign Minister, OSCE Chairman-in-Office Zbigniew Rau said he was impressed by the beauty of Baku.

Zbigniew Rau expressed his hope that the relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia would return to normal, noting that the current stage leading to a settlement seemed very optimistic. The OSCE Chairman-in-Office said that those processes were very gratifying for the Caucasus region, as well as for Central and Eastern Europe, as they created new opportunities for the future.

The visitor stressed that Azerbaijan had now become one of the main transport and logistical centers in the region.

Noting the successful development of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Poland, Zbigniew Rau stressed that a meeting of the intergovernmental commission would be held in the coming months to expand economic and trade relations.

Zbigniew Rau said Polish companies were also interested in the reconstruction work in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan.

Other issues of mutual interest were also discussed at the meeting.