Baku, Washington mull Ukraine, South Caucasus
By Vafa Ismayilova
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Counselor of U.S. Department of State Derek Chollet have discussed Ukraine and South Caucasus, the ministry reported on February 25.
In their phone conversation on February 25, Bayramov and Chollet focused on the situation in Ukraine and the South Caucasus region.
The sides also discussed other issues on the international agenda of mutual interest.
Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov earlier said that the situation around Ukraine should be resolved peacefully and in line with international law.
Azimov made the remarks at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Permanent Council’s special online meeting chaired by Poland.
Azimov stressed that the current situation in Ukraine must be resolved peacefully and diplomatically in line with the norms and principles of international law, including the sovereignty of states, territorial integrity, inviolability of borders, as well as the indivisibility of security in the OSCE area, the ministry said.
The deputy minister underlined that the situation in and around Ukraine is a matter of serious concern and an urgent dialogue is needed to prevent the situation from deteriorating further.
Noting that the escalation of the situation caused casualties, Azimov expressed condolences to the families and relatives of the victims.
On February 24, Baku urged Azerbaijani citizens permanently and temporarily residing in Ukraine to avoid military concentration zones.
In light of the situation in Ukraine, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry advised citizens not to travel to areas of military concentration (border areas in Ukraine's eastern region) and to avoid military facilities in the country.
On February 25, the Foreign Ministry said that due to the closure of Ukraine's airspace, Azerbaijani citizens are currently unable to leave the country by air.
In this regard, it recommended Azerbaijani citizens, who are in serious danger in Ukraine, to enter Moldova's territory by land through the border checkpoints of Ocnita and Palanca, which are located on the Ukrainian-Moldovan border.
"Due to the current humanitarian situation, the Moldovan side will not require COVID-passports from Azerbaijani citizens wishing to cross the land border," the ministry added.
Citizens with questions can contact the Azerbaijani embassy in Moldova by phone: +373 781 81 361, +373 789 91 849, +373 222 32 277, or by e-mail: [email protected], the statement added.
The ministry also offered the citizens to contact the Azerbaijani embassy in Kyiv by phone: (+380 73) 5050000 and by e-mail: [email protected], the Honorary Consulate in Kharkiv - (+38057) 7000531 and via [email protected] for special cases.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that in response to the appeal of the leaders of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic" and "Lugansk People's Republic" decided to conduct a special military operation in Eastern Ukraine.
The Ukrainian authorities introduced martial law throughout the entire territory. Ukrainian media report explosions in a number of cities.
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