Ali Hasanov: Azerbaijan has its own independent policy and we are not going to be dependent on any country

“Azerbaijan has its own independent policy and we are not going to be dependent on any country,” said the Azerbaijani President’s Aide for Public and Political Affairs, Ali Hasanov in an exclusive interview with “NewEurope. “With Europe we had a good relationship – energy, communications, transport. With different countries of the EU we have a good relationship and we continue to have a good relationship. But in the European Parliament some powers are trying to influence the members of the European Parliament to dictate some unacceptable rules to Azerbaijan,” Ali Hasanov said. “Of course, as an independent country we are not satisfied with this and we will resist this,” Mr. Hasanov noted. He called for an “equal relationship” based on mutual respect. “We held the elections according to European rules and laws,” he said, referring to the parliamentary elections held in Azerbaijan on November 1. “Some organizations in Europe under pressure refused to observe elections in Azerbaijan,” Mr. Hasanov said. “But some members of Europe and European Parliament arrived in Azerbaijan to observe the elections and they have seen that we had a democratic election in Azerbaijan. We think the refusal to observe the elections in Azerbaijan does not assist the bilateral relationship, friendship and cooperation,” Ali Hasanov noted. The President’s Aide noted Azerbaijan also played an important transport role between Europe and Asia, adding that the Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway, a regional rail link project to directly connect Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan, will be launched in six months, allowing the transport of goods from China to Europe and vice versa. Mr. Hasanov said Nagorno-Karabakh “is not a problem of Azerbaijani people, of the Azerbaijan government, it’s a threat to the whole world”. “We can see the EU problem with the refugees and in that context we think the Nagorno-Karabakh is also a problem of Europe,” he added. Ali Hasanov said ethnic separatism is the reason behind many of the new conflicts. “I think in the EU and UN there should be serious steps about solving the Nagorno-Karabakh and other conflicts,” he noted.