Azerbaijan’s President Aliyev in Vilnius

Vilnius is experiencing an ‘Caucasus onslaught’ today and tomorrow.  First off all the Azeri President Ilham Aliyev has arrived to Vilnius today to pay a firs official visit in the Lithuanian Azeri relation ever.  Then many high ranking diplomats are attending the ‘Georgia’s Friends’ conference.

According to the BNS after the meeting between the Lithuanian and Azeri leaders Lithuanian President called the Azerbaijan to ‘follow Lithuanian path’ and seek to join the Euro Atlantic structures.  President Adamkus also said that Lithuania has already reached a level when it could join an international energy grid very fast, which grid “is closing in on Europe, particularly from Azerbaijan’s region.”

This statment has mirrored Aliyev’s words: “Your country, just like ours, used to exist in a single state in the past, yet your achievements in NATO and the European Union show that we must follow your example”. As the President’s press office announced the Lithuanian President said that bilateral relations gained a considerable impetus in many areas recently. The two countries maintain contacts not only on the highest level but also develop cooperation in many other fields and consolidate legal base of their cooperation.“These intensive relations have great importance and significance to us, since they help to draw the attention of the international community to the South Caucasus region,” – said President Adamkus.

Mr. Adamkus underlined that Lithuania, looking for alternative energy supply projects, was hoping to develop projects with Azerbaijan in the nearest future which would guarantee greater energy security to the Baltic region.“I hope that oil and gas from Azerbaijan will reach the EU countries. If Azerbaijan’s energy projects reached Lithuania, it would be a considerable breakthrough in this area” said President of Lithuania.

President Aliyev thanked Lithuania for its contribution to the activities of the GUAM states, especially in reorganizing this regional union. According to the President of Azerbaijan, this strengthened the cooperation between the states of this region and enriched them with new experience.The Azeri President also stressed that oil extraction in Azerbaijan allows considering new projects, like building oil pipelines to the Black and the Baltic sea regions. In Aliev’s words, new markets interest Azerbaijan and the possibilities for new projects are good.

Mr. Aliyev should travel to Klaipėda to visit the seaport on 14 September and would return home in the evening. A number of bilateral agreements, particularly on IT technologies and communications, will be signed during the visit.

Turan news agency said that in Klaipėda Aliyev would familiarize himself with the work of oil enterprises and the seaport. The port might be part of a route to transport Azerbaijani oil in case of the implementation of the Odessa-Brody pipeline project.