Azerbaijan wants European integration

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said at a meeting with President of the European Council Herman van Rompuy that the final goal of the republic was to gain access to the European gas market via the Southern Gas Corridor. Azerbaijan signed a deal on the TAANAP project for realization of the corridor, 1news reports.

Aliyev noted that the country focused on European integration. Van Rompuy called bilateral relations with Azerbaijan strategic.

Aliyev thanked presidents of countries co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group for the declaration on Nagorno-Karabakh passed at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland. The Helsinki Final Act is the key document for settlement of the conflict with Armenia. The Azerbaijani leader expressed hope that the conflict would be settled according to principles of the UN Charter.