Azerbaijani top diplomat mulls regional situation, interstate relations with Dutch, Norwegian & Romanian colleagues [PHOTO]
By Fatima Hasanova
On December 1, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met with counterparts from Norway, Romania, and the Netherlands on the fringes of the 29th Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Polish Lodz, Azernews reports, citing the press service of the Foreign Ministry.
Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov at his meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Netherlands Wopke Hoekstra discussed the Azerbaijani-Dutch bilateral cooperation agenda, including the current situation in the South Caucasus.
The sides also outlined the potential for the development of existing ties between the two countries, as well as the importance of continuing the political dialogue.
Bayramov informed his colleague on the new regional realities after the 44-day second Karabakh War, the normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as Baku's peace efforts. He noted that Armenia's provocations, including the landmine threat, impede the peace process in the region.
On the same day, Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met with Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt.
The meeting discussed topical issues on the bilateral and multilateral agenda, as well as the regional and international situation.
Minister Jeyhun Bayramov noted that over the 30 years that have passed since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, relations have developed in various areas, such as energy, in particular, the oil and gas industry.
The minister also informed his counterpart about the regional situation in the post-conflict period, Azerbaijan's peacekeeping efforts in the region, the provocations of the Armenian side, and its failure to fulfill the obligations under the tripartite statement of November 10, 2020, including the mine threat.
Minister Anniken Huitfeldt noted that the events held this year to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries contributed to the further expansion of cooperation. She stressed that Norway welcomes efforts to reduce tensions and bring peace to the region. In particular, the importance of normalizing relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia was expressed.
Bayramov also met with Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu.
Priority areas of the Azerbaijani-Romanian bilateral strategic partnership, issues of cooperation in energy, transport, transit, trade, and economic areas, as well as on multilateral platforms were discussed in detail at the meeting. Satisfaction was expressed with the growing number of visits and political dialogue between countries.
Bayramov informed his Romanian counterpart about the current situation in the region in the post-conflict period, the process of normalizing relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as steps taken by Azerbaijan towards the preparation of an agreement on peace with Armenia. The minister drew attention to the existing mine threat and its serious humanitarian consequences.
Minister Aurescu noted the great strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Romania, and the importance of further development of practical cooperation in the energy and energy security sectors.
As OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries Russia, the USA, and France had been mediating a peaceful solution to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Group’s efforts resulted in no progress as Armenia refused to abide by the UN Security Council Resolutions (822, 853, 874, and 884) demanding the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of its troops from Azerbaijani territories, which was the main obstacle to the resolution of the conflict.
The trilateral ceasefire deal, signed by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders on November 10, 2020, ended the three-decade-long conflict over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region, which along with the seven adjacent regions came under the occupation of the Armenian armed forces in the war in the early 1990s.
On January 11, 2021, the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders signed the second statement after the end of the 44-day war. The newly-signed statement is set to implement clause 9 of the November 2020 statement related to the unblocking of all economic and transport communications in the region.
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