Azerbaijan supports establishment of Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as capital: president

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expressed his country’s support for the establishment of an “independent and sovereign” Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital on Thursday.

A statement by the Azerbaijani presidency said Aliyev’s remarks came during a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, during which he expressed confidence that the Palestinian premier’s visit would contribute to strengthening fraternal relations between Azerbaijan and Palestine.

“The President of Azerbaijan emphasised that our country supports the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital,” the statement said.

Noting that Mustafa conveyed the greetings of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Aliyev, the statement said he asked the Palestinian prime minister to also convey his own greetings to his counterpart.

Mustafa, for his part, was quoted as acknowledging that Palestine is currently in a “difficult situation,” according to the statement, and expressed hope Palestinians would be able to overcome it “with the help of friends.”

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“In this regard, he expressed gratitude to the head of state for the support Azerbaijan has shown to Palestine, as well as for the intention to build a secondary school in Palestine as humanitarian support,” the statement said.

It further said that the opening of the Azerbaijani Representative Office in Ramallah and Baku's coverage of the expenses of the Palestinian Embassy in Azerbaijan were described during the meeting as “indicators of the high level of our bilateral relations.”

According to the statement, the meeting recalled that Azerbaijan provided $5 million in financial assistance to Palestine following the Conference on the Establishment of an Islamic Financial Safety Net and the Conference of Donor Countries on Financing the Sector Plan for the Development of the City of Jerusalem, hosted in Baku in 2013, and emphasised that Azerbaijan also assists Palestine through the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

“The fact that 23 Palestinian students, out of a total of 37, were studying in Azerbaijan through the ‘Heydar Aliyev International Education Grant’ was highly appreciated. The Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to the Head of State for this,” it said.

The statement added that the topics discussed during the meeting included, among other issues the export of Palestinian agricultural products to Azerbaijan on preferential terms.