At this moment a meeting in Berlin between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Ilham Aliyev is taking place. The parties discussed bilateral relations issues, energy policy and the situations in Ukraine and the Caucasus.

In her speech, the Chancellor said: "I am glad that the President of Azerbaijan is today in Berlin. The last time we met here was five years ago. For us, Azerbaijan is a partner with a growing importance. Azerbaijan's economy shows very dynamic growth, and there are two reasons why this country is important for us. Firstly, because of its oil and gas reserves. Secondly, Azerbaijan may become our partner in the diversification of our own economy with the help of German and other European companies."

According to Merkel, "the German government actively supports the project of the Southern Gas Corridor, and this is what we discussed today. We also discussed bilateral topics important to both of us; in particular, the human rights situation in Azerbaijan played a role here."

"We also had a discussion about the geopolitical situation of Azerbaijan. We have discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the resolution of which Germany would like to contribute to. Perhaps the European Union could have acted here with its own initiative, and I think Azerbaijan will discuss this with the European Commission. We also discussed the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the binding of Azerbaijan to the EU's Eastern Partnership program. As far as I understand, Azerbaijan calls for good cooperation with the EU, while not having the goal of membership in the European Union. I would like to emphasize once again that this very approach was the starting point of the Eastern Partnership program. This year, under the Lithuanian presidency of the EU,the next summit of the Eastern Partnership will take place, the Chancellor said.