AZERBAIJAN IN THE WORLD ADA Biweekly Newsletter Vol. 2, No. 6 March 15, 2009
[email protected] In this issue: -- Romania – The New NATO Contact Point in Azerbaijan: An Interview with H.E. Mr. Nikolae Ureche, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Romania in Azerbaijan -- Paul Goble, “NATO’s Possible Expansion to the East: Some Unexpected Implications for Azerbaijan” -- Hikmet Hajiyev, “An Armenian Acknowledges Existence of Armenian Terrorism” -- A Chronology of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Policy -- Note to Readers ***** ROMANIA – THE NEW NATO CONTACT POINT IN AZERBAIJAN An Interview with H.E. Mr. Nicolae Ureche Ambassador of Romania to the Republic of Azerbaijan March 10, 2009 Baku, Azerbaijan Azerbaijan in the World: What is the state of political dialogue between Romania and Azerbaijan? Ambassador Ureche: Romania has had a strong interest in developing relations with Azerbaijan from the very beginning, having been the second country (after Turkey) to recognize the Republic of Azerbaijan. In the years since that time, our two countries from their president down have had frequent and fruitful contacts, and this dialogue has boosted our bilateral cooperation. 1 Given recent developments in the region, Romania is committed to consolidating its links with states in the Caucasus. As an EU and NATO member bordering the Black Sea, Romania seeks enhanced dialogue and cooperation with the states in this region. It is playing an active role in EU initiatives including the European Neighbourhood Policy, the Eastern Partnership, and Black Sea Synergy. Romania has been and will continue to be a reliable partner of Azerbaijan and to seek further development of our bilateral contacts and collaboration in multilateral settings.