Information of the Press Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the speech of Minister Jeyhun Bayramov at the session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe

On May 20, 2022, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Jeyhun Bayramov addressed the 132nd session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE) in Turin, Italy.

Minister Jeyhun Bayramov congratulated Italy on the successful completion of its chairmanship in the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and expressed our support for the future chairmanship of Ireland.

In his speech, the Minister stressed that Azerbaijan respects the norms and principles of international law, including sovereignty and territorial integrity within the internationally recognized borders of states, noting that these principles are the basis of international peace, security and stability.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Minister briefed the participants on the current situation in the region and the steps taken to normalize relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Noting that we are continuing our efforts to normalize relations between the two countries, the Minister stressed that the meeting of the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Brussels on April 6 of this year with the mediation and participation of the President of the EU Council had a positive impact on this process. The Minister noted that, following the meeting, the Foreign Ministers of the two countries were instructed to start drafting a peace agreement between the two countries, and agreed to establish a Joint Border Commission on delimitation and demarcation of the border between the two countries.

Minister Jeyhun Bayramov emphasized that Azerbaijan is ready to cooperate with Armenia in strengthening peace and security in the region, noting that the Council of Europe could contribute to the implementation of confidence-building measures, which have a special role in this direction, and praised the organization of a meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian civil society representatives at the initiative of the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe.

Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, drawing attention to the fact that the threat of landmines is one of the problems facing Azerbaijan in the post-conflict period, and that there is no information about the fate of more than 4,000 Azerbaijanis who went missing during the war in the early 1990s, called on the international community to actively support and contribute to overcoming these problems for the sake of lasting peace and stability in the region.

Noting that Azerbaijan is committed to cooperation with the member states and bodies of the Council of Europe, the Minister said that during the visit of the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe to Azerbaijan in April 2022, cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe was widely discussed, and stressed that a new action plan of the Council of Europe for Azerbaijan for 2022-2025 was presented and the plan created a new basis for joint action.

At the end of his speech, the Minister said that during the next chairmanship of Ireland, we will continue our results-oriented cooperation in accordance with the priorities of the Council of Europe on the basis of common values.