No:069/20, The information of the Press Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan
The video-conference of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Visegrad Group (V4) Countries on the Eastern Partnership was conducted on April 8, 2020.
The video-conference organized by the Czech Presidency of the Visegrad Group replaced the meeting that was planned to be conducted earlier between the foreign ministers of V4 and the Eastern Partnership countries but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result of the video-conference, the Visegrad Group adopted a Joint Statement on the future of the Eastern Partnership. The statement emphasized the importance of maintaining high priority and strategic importance of the Eastern Partnership in the foreign policy of the European Union. While including the paragraphs on the EU’s policy towards its Eastern Partners, the statement stressed that this policy should reflect shared values as fundaments of Eastern Partnership, as well as pointed out the importance of being inclusive and supporting the choices of Partners concerned and differentiation on the basis of Partners commitments and aspirations.
The Joint Statement emphasized firm support of V4 to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all Partner countries. It also stressed the urgency of the soonest resolution of the unresolved conflicts in the Eastern Partnership countries based on the norms and principles of the international law, as enshrined in the UN Charter and Helsinki Final Act.
We would like to reiterate that the principle of “equal rights and self-determination of peoples” as one of the 10 principles of the Helsinki Final Act is defined as follows: “The States will respect the equal rights of peoples and their right to self-determination, acting at all times in conformity with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the relevant norms and principles of international law, including those relating to the territorial integrity of States.”
V4 countries stated that they will continue developing and supporting Eastern Partnership beyond the year of 2020.