Azernews.Az

By Vugar Khalilov

Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has said that Azerbaijan is committed to the peace agenda with Armenia, despite the latter’s disruptive acts, Azernews reports, citing the ministry.

Bayramov made the remarks at the 39th meeting of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development - GUAM Foreign Ministers' Council held on the margins of the 77th UNGA session on September 20.

Bayramov shared his views on GUAM's activities and prospects in trade, transportation, and communications, as well as inter-parliamentary collaboration, underlining the need for cooperation under the aegis of the organization.

The minister spoke about the post-war initiatives to alleviate the impacts of the past conflict with Armenia. He briefed the participants on the restoration and rebuilding efforts, the return of internally displaced people to their homes, programs aimed at integrating ethnic Armenians residing in the region, and the current threat of landmines in the area.

The diplomat noted that certain steps have been taken to establish communications and transportation lines, and Azerbaijan put up a peace deal proposal within the context of the trilateral declarations and agreements achieved between the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders.

Despite this, Armenia delayed the process gravely breaching its commitments under the trilateral declarations, and recently provoked a large-scale military provocation that resulted in casualties. However, despite Armenia's harmful behavior, Azerbaijan is determined to advance the peace agenda and maintain dialogue, Bayramov stressed.

Furthermore, he emphasized that the situation in Ukraine is profoundly disturbing, and it is necessary to settle the conflict via diplomacy and on the basis of international law, notably the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity within internationally recognized state borders.

Azerbaijan was one of the first nations to provide Ukraine with humanitarian aid, and 15 million euros in relief has been delivered so far, the diplomat underlined.

Bayramov concluded his address by congratulating Ukraine on assuming the GUAM leadership in 2023.

Other participating Foreign Ministers and Secretary-General Altay Afandiyev briefed attendees about the organization's stances and goals throughout the meeting.

At the meeting, member states signed the "Protocol on the rules for determining the country of origin of goods to the agreement on the establishment of a free trade zone" and the "Organization for Democracy and Economic Development - GUAM Convention on mutual assistance in the field of consular issues".

The meeting was also attended by Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili, Moldovan Foreign Minister, Nicu Popescu, and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

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