An international conference dedicated to energy cooperation among the Caspian basin countries was held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel of Baku on Saturday on the initiative of the European Union.
Issues related to prospects for energy collaboration among regional states were discussed at the event attended by delegations from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Belarus, Iran, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, as well as an Armenian delegation led by a head of the Energy Ministry department Levan Vardanian.
Deputy Prime Minister Abid Sharifov said at the conference that the Armenian representatives’ participation in the event does not imply Azerbaijan’s cooperation with Yerevan.
Vardanian told journalists that he did not face any difficulty in coming to Baku. He also thanked the Azerbaijani side for ‘organizing the visit properly’.
Although the Azerbaijani government has kept the Armenians’ planned participation in the conference confidential, their arrival in Baku has drawn fire from the public and political organizations in the country.
The Garabagh Liberation Organization held a picket outside the Hyatt Regency Hotel on the same day in protest against the Armenian delegates’ visit. The opposition Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front party of Azerbaijan, in turn, issued a statement condemning the position of the government, which has offered facilities for the Armenians’ participation in the conference and concealed it from the public.
In the statement, the party urges the government to voice a decisive stance on the issues related to Azerbaijan’s national interests and take urgent steps to oust the Armenian delegates from Baku.
The Armenian representatives also participated in a conference on cooperation in the area of transport in Baku on Sunday.
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