EU's Eastern Partnership will help resolve Karabakh issue

 

The European Union's Eastern Partnership program will play a role in the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, according to the secretary general of the Dutch Foreign Ministry, Ed Kronenburg. “When the EU achieves better relations between the countries of South Caucasus region through the Eastern Partnership, this will positively affect the resolution of this important issue for Azerbaijan," Kronenburg said at the official opening of the Dutch Embassy in Azerbaijan, Trend news agency reports.

 

According to Trend, as an EU member the Netherlands supports all efforts intended to find a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, including the efforts of OSCE Minsk Group. “I hope to God that this conflict will finally be resolved,” Kronenburg said.

 

Kronenburg said that the official opening of the embassy in times of economic crisis was an exceptional event that showed the importance to the Netherlands of its relationship with Azerbaijan. The secretary general said that while in Baku he had held several interesting meetings, including with the president of Azerbaijan, the foreign minister, and his deputy.

 

To mark the opening of the embassy, an exhibition of 110 photos by Dmitry Ermakov was organized. The photographs were taken in Azerbaijan in 1872-1912 and restored with the financial support of the Dutch government.

 

The first Dutch ambassador to Azerbaijan is Jan Lucas van Hoorn, who will work in close contact with other EU ambassadors in Baku and with Dutch embassies in Tbilisi and Ankara. 

 

The Azerbaijani Embassy in Netherlands was founded in 2007 and is headed by Ambassador Fuad Iskanderov.

03.03.2010