No:049/23, Press release on the working visit of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Elnur Mammadov to the Kingdom of the Netherlands
02 February 2023 21:22
The working visit of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Elnur Mammadov to the Kingdom of the Netherlands took place on 31 January – 1 February of the current year.
Within the framework of the visit, on 1 February, Deputy Minister Elnur Mammadov met with Erica Schouten, Deputy Director-General for Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
During the meeting, Ms. Schouten condemned the armed attack committed against the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Islamic Republic of Iran on 27 January and expressed her condolences to the family of the deceased, the Government and people of Azerbaijan over the employee of the Azerbaijani Embassy who was killed as a result of the incident. At the same time, E. Schouten emphasized the importance of ensuring the security of diplomatic missions.
For his part, the Deputy Minister expressed his gratitude for the statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands regarding the incident and underscored the importance of strengthening the security of the Azerbaijani Embassy in The Hague.
Afterwards, the sides discussed the situation in the region. Information was provided on the current situation regarding the Lachin road, and an exchange of views was conducted on the Azerbaijan-Armenia normalization process and the role of the European Union therein.
At the end of the meeting, the sides agreed to hold the next round of political consultations planned for this year in Baku in the near future.
On the same day, Elnur Mammadov met with Tunahan Kuzu, Member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands and member of the DENK party in the Foreign Affairs Committee, and later with Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, spokesperson of the Committee and Member of Parliament from the D66 party.
During the meetings, both Members of Parliament expressed regret over the terrorist act committed against the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Islamic Republic of Iran and conveyed the condolences of the Dutch side over the Embassy employee who was killed as a result of the incident.
The Deputy Minister thanked them for the condolences. Elnur Mammadov also provided information on the course of the public hearings held on 30-31 January 2023 at the International Court of Justice upon the requests of the sides for the indication of additional provisional measures in the court cases concerning the application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Armenia v. Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan v. Armenia). At the same time, he informed the other side about the continued deliberate placement of mines and explosive traps by the Armenian armed forces in civilian areas of Azerbaijan and the current situation on the Lachin road.
