From the conversation of the Azerbaijani Republic President Heydar Aliyev at the meeting with the UNO resident coordinator Ercan Murat and other members of the organization - at the Presidential Palace on 30 May, 2001


Heydar Aliyev: Distinguished Ercan Murat!

Dear friends!

I think that our meeting today is connected with the departure of Mr. Ercan Murat from Azerbaijan. Naturally, diplomatic mission has its own principles. Diplomats are allowed to work in some place a long time. Perhaps, for that reason you are replaced. But the matter is that we are accustomed to persons working in our country, and don't want them leave of our country.

You successfully cooperated with various local companies during your activity. For that I thank you. I hope that you will work more fruitfully in your next post. Please, I am listening you.

Ercan Murat: Mr. President, let me first of all thank you for the reception on the behalf of me, the heads of the specialized groups of the UNO in Azerbaijan and other participating colleagues.

You have always supported the activities of various structure of The United Nations Organization in Azerbaijan. That is why we don't consider this reception as an exceptional case.

We decided to give you brief information about the meeting we hold, affairs we did with the last four years and our future plans. We want to hear your recommendations and advise over this.

Heydar Aliyev: Please, do it briefly

Ercan Murat: The United Nations Organization is mainly interested to render support to your government for the improving life conditions of the refuges. We are very satisfied with the outcomes of the collaboration in this field, especially with the lite of the refuges return their lands, for example, to the reconstructioned of Horadis settlement.

In this respect, we closely cooperated with the office of Abid Sherifov and continue our activity. At the same time, we have materialized some projects with your state structures in the socio-economic fields. Besides, we have fruitfully cooperated for the improvement of governance, creation of new jobs, and solution the problems of the children. En doing them we acted not as separate organizations of the UNO, but as a single team. We think that it was efficient, because your government always supported our activity, treated our specialized, we also had successfully as a single centre. And we have cooperated with your government in this sphere successfully.

We would also like to share our future plans with you. We are very glad that your government has adopted an important decision and raised the level of the information-technology existing in the world. We closely elaborate with Mr. Ramis Mehdiyev for improving the policy of information-technology of your government to a completely high level.

We also welcome your initiative to set up Oil Fund, and spend the accumulated for the nation.

Besides, my colleagues are ready to render all kinds of support to your country after achievement of peace.

Mr. President, finally I want to declare the people sitting at this side of the table decided to render all kinds of support to your country after the achievement peace.

We closely follow your consistent efforts to solve the conflict peacefully and I declare that we are ready to help Azerbaijan after the peaceful solution of the conflict.

Finally, I want to share with you my personal views, and observations Mr. President, I worked here nearly for four years. During this time I loved Azerbaijan, Baku, and its nation. I was very much pleased to work here. I felt myself at home, spoke in my own language. I thank you and your nation for all these.

Distinguished president, if you have any question to me and my colleagues, we are ready to answer them.

Heydar Aliyev: Thank you. I have no question. It's easy to put a question, but it is necessary to work.

I thank you once more for your four years of fruitful activity. I wish you luck in your future activities.

You support the peaceful solution of the Azerbaijani-Armeniani conflict. When peace is reached, we'll render necessary support to Azerbaijan.

I thank you for that too.

But first it is necessary to solve the conflict peacefully.

It is regretting that Security Council of the United Nations Organization is very passive in the solution of this conflict. We repeatedly say that, the Security Council of the UNO adopted four resolutions in 1993.

These resolutions recognize the territorial integrity, and demand the withdrawal of the Armenian military forces from the occupied territories without any condition.

I have spoken from the rostrum on this problem several times, reminded the problem, desires, wishes and demands of Azerbaijan of General Assembly of the UNO in New-York. But I regret that all of them produced no results. It's true, the UNO says that the OSCE, its Minsk group and three mediators three great powers of the world are engaged in it. But, this doesn't reduce the responsibility of the UNO and its Security Council.

I got a congratulation from the UNO General Secretary Koffi Annan on the occasion of the Day of Republic. Mr. Koffi Annan declares that he wants the peaceful settlement of the conflict, and the UNO is ready to help in the reconstruction of the liberated territories. I thank him for these desires. But first of all, the conflict must be settled. If the problem is not solved, the occupied territories are not liberated, then all these remain the promises.

I know that your are not responsible for this things directly. But your are the representative of the United Nations Organization in Azerbaijan. For this reason, saying these directly to you I hope that you'll deliver our anxiety, our demands and dissatisfaction to the top officials of the United Nations and Security Council.

We expect real activities and results. But all the promises given to us concern the future. I declare once more that we shall try for the peaceful solution of the conflict. But you see the difficulties. Perhaps, you see the hard life conditions of the refuges living in the tents. Not in any world country there is so many refuges as in Azerbaijan. Not any one in other world countries live in such critical conditions. But the international organizations naturally indifference surprises and touches us very much.

I thank you once more for the work done by you. You surely leave us, but your colleagues here remain in Azerbaijani. I wish that, they also bear my words in their memory.

Ercan Murat: Mr. President, thank you. We clearly heard your advice to us. Be sure that before leaving your country, I shall convey your views to the Secretary General of the United Nations. I thank you for the reception and support. I wish you and Azerbaijan much greater successes in future! Thank you.

Heydar Aliyev: Thank you.

Brief essays

Azerbaijan - International organizations

General historical background

Azerbaijan - UN

Historical backgrounds

Azerbaijan - UN