Azerbaijan-EU cooperation treaty may become strategic agreement in future - President Aliyev
BAKU. March 16 (Interfax) - Baku is interested in promoting cooperation with European Union member countries, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said.
"Regional cooperation and good relations with all of our neighbors are our priority. We have managed to build very firm relations with the European Union and have signed bilateral agreements on strategic cooperation with nine of its member countries, in other words one-third," Aliyev said at the Fifth Global Baku Forum on Thursday.
Azerbaijan has excellent relations with all countries except for Armenia, he said.
"The majority of European countries treat Azerbaijan as a strategic partner not only because of our energy resources, but also for a number of other important reasons," Aliyev said.
"Instead of signing an association agreement with the European Union, we have chosen a more realistic path, suggesting that a separate document on cooperation should be signed. Possibly, it will be an agreement on strategic cooperation in the future. We prefer building our policy upon the actual situation instead of engaging in unfounded populism," he said.