President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mehriban Aliyeva have hosted an official reception in honor of President of the Republic of Serbia Tomislav Nikolic and his wife Dragica Nikolic.

After welcoming the President and the Serbian delegation to Baku again, President Ilham Aliyev said that mutual visits would promote the development of bilateral relations and their transition to a new level. Saying that trade between the two countries had increased several times in 2012 as compared to 2011, the President added that Azerbaijan was actively involved in investing in Serbia, which is evidence of the level of development of economic ties. Noting that the documents signed during the visit had laid the foundation for the development of bilateral relations, President Ilham Aliyev said that Serbian-Azerbaijani cultural and humanitarian relations were quite satisfactory. He noted that the two countries also collaborated within the framework of regional and international organizations.

Stressing that the positions of the two countries on the fight against international terrorism, issues of strengthening the stability in our region and territorial integrity overlap, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- Azerbaijan is in favor of security, stability, development and cooperation in the region. But the most painful problem of the region, the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, remains unresolved. As a result of the military aggression on the part of Armenia, 20 per cent of Azerbaijani territory – our ancestral lands of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding seven districts – have been occupied, a policy of ethnic cleansing carried out on these territories, and more than one million people have become refugees and IDPs. The international community and international organizations recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and are in favor of a just settlement of the conflict in accordance with international standards. There are four UN Security Council resolutions, decisions and resolutions of the OSCE, the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, NATO and other international organizations in relation to the conflict. Our definitive position is that the conflict must be resolved only in accordance with international law and the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

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Expressing his gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for the warm hospitality, the head of the Serbian state, Tomislav Nikolic, said that this visit would help deepen relations between the two countries in all fields. Touching upon the importance of a further development of cooperation in the economic sphere, Tomislav Nikolic said that Serbia and Azerbaijan were linked together by a history of close links between the two nations and a commitment to strategic partnership.

The Serbian President noted the importance of developing relations between the two countries in cultural, scientific and other spheres. Stressing that Serbia is always interested in developing the dialogue and cooperation with Azerbaijan, President Tomislav Nikolic said:

- For the country I represent, Azerbaijan is a very important and close partner which adheres to the same position as us on the issue of territorial integrity. Like Azerbaijan, Serbia also faces challenges and strives to treat them and all the countries located in our region in a consistent, constructive, appropriate and friendly manner. Like other countries, we can not compromise the territorial integrity, dignity and laws of our country either. Despite this, we are fully ready for dialogue and resolution of the current contradictions in our region using the most sophisticated and correct methods.

The President of Serbia expressed his confidence that the relationships established between the two countries and peoples would continue to serve as an example of a continuous improvement of mutual understanding and support.