Azernews.Az

By Ayya Lmahamad

Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayraov has described as important the fulfillment of conditions of a ceasefire deal signed by Baku, Yerevan and Moscow on November 10, 2020, to normalize Azerbaijani-Armenian relations.

He made the remarks during a joint press conference with Polish Foreign Minister and OSCE Chairman-in-Office Zbigniew Rau in Baku.

Noting the possibility of normalization of Azerbaijan-Armenia relations, the minister emphasized that the time has come to take concrete steps in this direction.

“Azerbaijan put forward its proposals for peace, but the Armenian side did not react to it,” he said.

OSCE ready to contribute to peace

Zbigniew Rau underlined that the OSCE is ready to contribute to the peace process and dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

"I will call on Armenia to be careful in restoring peace in the South Caucasus. The OSCE is also ready to promote the demarcation process and clarify the fate of missing persons. Our main goal is to ensure long-term peace," he said.

Bilateral cooperation

Jeyhun Bayramov highlighted that there is a potential for expanding Azerbaijani-Polish economic relations. He underlined opportunities for the development of bilateral ties in the fields of agriculture, tourism and other areas.

The minister recalled that the flights between Warsaw and Baku will be resumed from May.

"Today I discussed with my Polish colleague the prospects for the development of economic relations between Azerbaijan and Poland," he said.

Speaking about the one-on-one meeting between the ministers, Bayramov stated that they have discussed Armenia's long-term occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory and the end of that occupation as a result of the 44-day war.

The minister mentioned that the meeting was held on Azerbaijani Genocide Day, March 31.

"During the genocide, Armenians killed tens of thousands of Azerbaijanis because of their ethnicity," he said.

Moreover, he said that the restoration of the country's liberated territories and the return of Azerbaijanis to their native lands were also discussed at the meeting.

"The participation of Polish companies in the restoration works is desirable, and this issue was also touched upon at today's meeting," he added.

In turn, Zbigniew Rau stressed that Poland highly values its bilateral relations with Azerbaijan.

EU and Azerbaijan

Bayramov stated that the full agreement on the partnership document between the EU and Azerbaijan is expected in the near future.

The minister noted that cooperation within the framework of international organizations was widely discussed during the meeting.

"Poland as an OSCE member contributes to cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan," he said.

Additionally, the minister noted that about 20,000 Azerbaijanis have left Ukraine. He added that roughly 4,000 Azerbaijanis left Ukraine due to the strained situation in the country through the territory of Poland.

"We thank the Polish side for the conditions created for this," he said.

Earlier, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received a delegation led by Zbigniew Rau.

--

Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz