Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov on Friday said that an agreement between his country and the EU can be "further enriched," as the foreign policy chief of the 27-member bloc visited Baku.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Kaja Kallas, Bayramov said that the legal basis for the ties between Azerbaijan and the EU was laid in 1999 through a partnership and cooperation agreement, and that the two sides have engaged in talks on a new comprehensive agreement in 2017.
Bayramov said negotiations held over several years resulted in the agreements between the two sides on 90% of the issues covered by the deal, but that a stagnation has been observed in this process over recent years.
"Today, the discussion on this issue was that in the coming months, both sides will again take practical steps towards completing the remaining open issues," he further said.
"We believe that the agreement can be further enriched," the Azerbaijani foreign minister went on to say, explaining his country's position, taking into account certain issues, including the emergence of "new realities" in the region and new potential areas of cooperation between Baku and Brussels.
He also said the EU is Azerbaijan's main trading partner, noting that their trade turnover in 2014 amounted to approximately $20 billion.
Concerning energy ties, Bayramov said that Azerbaijan is exporting natural gas to 12 countries, 10 of which are EU member states. He also said that they exchanged views on issues concerning transportation.
Bayramov said that he also briefed Kallas about the current situation regarding the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, reiterating Baku's demand for the removal of territorial claims in Yerevan's constitution and the dissolution of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group.
"As a source of concern in the region, both the inclusion of these provisions in the Armenian Constitution and the continued existence of revanchist tendencies in Armenia are a serious concern, and Armenia's rapid arming in that regard is the same issue," he added.
For her part, Kallas described Azerbaijan as an important partner in the region, especially in the field of energy.
She further said that the EU supports Azerbaijan and Armenia's efforts to achieve a sustainable and lasting peace, welcoming Baku and Yerevan's agreement on the text of the peace deal on March 13.
Kallas arrived in Baku on an official visit earlier in the day, where he also held talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
