Azerbaijani, Serbian leaders discuss ties, cooperation, 'strategic partnership' documents signed

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – The leaders of Azerbaijan and Serbia discussed bilateral relations and cooperation on several sectors on Wednesday, as several documents on "strategic partnership" were signed in the Azerbaijani capital.

“Our cooperation in a number of fields already has a long history. First of all, I should say that Serbia and Azerbaijan are strategic partners. Several documents on strategic partnership have been signed between our countries,” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said during a news conference alongside his visiting counterpart Alexandar Vucic in Baku.

Aliyev said both countries have always supported and continue to support each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty, which he said is a policy that will “remain unchanged.”

“We advocate international law and are convinced that the relations between countries can be regulated only on the basis of norms and principles of international law,” Aliyev added.

He said they hope they the decisions taken in Belgrade last month will be implemented soon, as the heads of respective institutions in the two countries have been in contact with each other in the past month, and that these contacts continue today with the intention to develop bilateral relations “rapidly” and implement decisions taken without “wasting time.”

Aliyev further touched on various sectors in which he hoped to develop and produce results in, namely trade, transport, logistics, energy, and defense.

For his part, Vucic said talks are underway on how to build transmission systems in Serbia and how to improve them so that Serbia can also receive electricity that will be transported through underwater cables to Romania and Hungary, according to a statement on his website.

"President Vucic said that they have already discussed how, through the interconnectors that will be built with Bulgaria and North Macedonia, Serbia can also access Azerbaijani gas," the statement added.

Aliyev signed seven bilateral agreements, including a memorandum of understanding to establish a Strategic Partnership Council, alongside Vucic during a visit to the Serbian capital Belgrade in late November.

Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, and Hungary signed an agreement on Saturday in the Romanian capital Bucharest, which envisions laying an underwater electric cable under the Black Sea to provide Azerbaijani energy to Europe.