Azernews.Az

By Akbar Mammadov

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a major threat to security in the OSCE area and must be kept on the agenda of Sweden's upcoming chairmanship within the OSCE, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said while receiving a copy of the credentials of the newly appointed Ambassador of Sweden Christian Kamill on September 15.

During the meeting, Bayramov spoke about Armenia’s cross-border military provocation near Tovuz region on July 12-16, saying that the Armenian leadership has increased tensions in the region and engaged in provocative actions. The minister said that the international community must send decisive messages to the aggressor Armenia. Thus, the minister stressed the importance of keeping the issue of settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which is a major threat to security in the OSCE area, on the agenda of Sweden's upcoming chairmanship within the OSCE.

In his turn, the ambassador stressed that Sweden supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and advocates for the peaceful resolution of the conflict.

Christian Kamil said that he is pleased to be appointed as an ambassador to Azerbaijan, and stressed that the upgrading of Sweden's diplomatic representation in Azerbaijan is an indicator of the importance attached to Azerbaijan.

He also noted that he will spare no efforts to further expanding the cooperation between the two countries during his diplomatic tenure.

During the meeting, the sides discussed existing bilateral cooperation between the two countries, including the development of relations in the political, economic, trade, cultural and tourism spheres, opportunities for expanding inter-parliamentary cooperation.

The sides also exchanged views on active representation and contacts on multilateral platforms.

Furthermore, it was noted that prior to the chairmanship of Sweden in the OSCE in 2021, a visit of the Swedish Foreign Minister to the region is being considered.

Armenian provocation discussed with French envoy

Armenian military provocation was also highlighted during Ceyhun Bayramov’s meeting with French Ambassador Zacharie Gross on September 15.

Minister Jeyhun Bayramov briefed the French Ambassador as the representative of one of the co-chair states of the OSCE Minsk Group, on the situation in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It was noted that the process of negotiations on the settlement of the conflict has stalled due to the extremely provocative and irresponsible behavior of the Armenian side.

The provocative actions of the Armenian leadership, which seeks to escalate tensions in the region, and also the fact that the Minsk Group co-chairs did not react to such provocative activities was noted with regret. During the meeting, it was stated that the balanced approach to the aggressor state Armenia and Azerbaijan, the territories of which have been under occupation for almost 30 years was wrong. It was also noted that the recent large-scale armament of Armenia is an indication of the country's interest in new provocations.

It was also stated that the balanced approach to the aggressor state Armenia and Azerbaijan, the territories of which have been under occupation for almost 30 years was wrong.

In his turn, Gross emphasized that France is interested in ensuring peace and security in the region. The ambassador expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of progress in the talks on resolving the conflict.

Conveying the sincere congratulations of Minister of Europe and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to Bayramov, the ambassador said that Le Drian invited his Azerbaijani counterpart to pay an official visit to Paris.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France has been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Group’s efforts have resulted in no progress and to this date, Armenia has failed to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) that demand the withdrawal of Armenian military forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

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Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

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