Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Havana, Dec 6.- Cuba and Azerbaijan seek mutual cooperation, including in medicine and culture, as well as multilateral coordination while reinforcing actions to oppose the US blockade against the island.
This was stated by the Azerbaijani Vice Chancellor Elnur Mammadov, in an exclusive interview with Prensa Latina in this capital, in which he highlighted as part of the advancement of medical cooperation the possible opening of a hospital in his country, where Cuban doctors would work.
A few days ago, we had the presence here of our Minister of Health who held meetings with the Cuban side about joint scientific proposals and we hope to have good news about it soon, he stated.
Commenting on his meetings in this capital with Cuban authorities, he considered that the most important result of recent years was having reached a complete exchange of representation levels between the embassies of both countries.
Cuba has had an embassy in Azerbaijan since 2007 and since last year both states now have representation at the level of ambassadors, commented the Azerbaijani official in a meeting at the Gran Muthu Habana hotel in the capital.
Another area of ??cooperation is education, since Cuban students, he estimated, are eligible for the scholarship offers offered by Baku for members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). The number increased from 20 to 100 places, he explained.
The diplomat also referred to Cuba's fight against the genocidal blockade imposed by the United States, clarifying that, in the vote on the Cuban resolution at the UN against that siege, in 1993, his country was the only one to support it in space. post-soviet. Since then, Azerbaijan has done so for more than 30 years.
Recently, in a vote in the UN General Assembly against the blockade, 187 countries voted in favor of the Cuban resolution, he recalled.
At the same time, as president of the NAM, we maintain the issue of the North American blockade and raise our complaint against this siege on every possible international platform, the Azeri diplomat clarified.
The concern, he emphasized, is also given by the consequences that the application of the blockade causes for the population of Cuba.
One of the most worrying effects of the US economic encirclement policy is that it attacks nations eager to maintain commercial relations with Cuba and prevents that activity, Mammadov commented.
Referring to the prospects for the signing of a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the diplomat recalled that, during the times of the Soviet Union, what he described as Armenian aggression against his country left more than 20 percent under the control of Azeri territory of Yerevan.
By 1994, we reached a ceasefire with Armenia, where much of Azerbaijani territory came under Armenian control, Mammadov admitted.
In 1993, the UN Security Council approved four resolutions on Armenia's aggression against Azerbaijan that demanded the complete and unconditional departure of that country from occupied territories, he noted.
A second armed conflict occurred in September 2020. As a result of this dispute, we were able to liberate our internationally recognized territories, highlighted the vice chancellor.
Based on initiatives proposed by Azerbaijan, in October of last year we began talks to establish the parameters of a peace agreement, in accordance with principles of international law, he stated.
In October of this year, we held rounds, sponsored by several states, to test the possibilities of a peaceful settlement, he noted.
After the liberation of the territories, including nine Azeri cities, most of them were in a deplorable state, including their cultural and religious centers, hospitals and infrastructure, commented the deputy foreign minister.
Furthermore, these areas are infested with mines, since Armenia planted more than a million of these devices there, and that makes rehabilitation work difficult, the official estimated in an exchange with Prensa Latina.
Since the end of the second confrontation, we have been able to return some five thousand ethnic Azeris displaced from their homes by the occupation and we seek to reach 140 thousand people in 2026, the diplomat said.
When speaking about his country's role at the head of the NAM, Mammadov clarified that Azerbaijan became a member of that organization in 2011 and in just eight years was able to assume the presidency of that international institution.
Such a challenge was for three years, but the Azeri presidency was extended for one more year, until 2023 and we will hand over the leadership next January, confirmed the vice chancellor.
Unfortunately, the Azeri presidency of the NAM coincided with a global health crisis, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that, of course, negatively affected our agenda of initiatives.
In May of this year, as president of the NAM, Azerbaijan launched a global campaign for post-pandemic recovery for Africa and Caribbean countries, with one million dollars for each of these two programs.
As part of this program, we worked with Cuba on several projects that also meant greater financing for this nation and an increase in bilateral ties, the diplomat estimated.
During the pandemic, he noted, we reinforced the coordination of efforts in the global fight against this scourge and this led to the adoption of a resolution in December 2020 of the UN General Assembly on a call for action by the international community against COVID-19.
We also took an initiative to the Human Rights Council, which in March 2021 approved a resolution condemning discrimination in the access and distribution of vaccines against the COVID-19 virus, he highlighted.
In addition, we proposed the creation of a NAM parliamentary network, an initiative for the exchange of ideas and another related to the women's agenda and their role in parliaments. We created a platform of NAM members for that purpose, the official said. (PL) (Photo: Archive)
