No:707/23, Press release on the meeting between Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić
08 December 2023 14:26
On 8 December 2023, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov met with Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE).
During the meeting, an exchange of views was conducted on issues on the existing cooperation agenda between Azerbaijan and the CoE, as well as the current situation in the region.
Minister Jeyhun Bayramov noted with satisfaction that during the period since Azerbaijan became a member of the CoE, it has closely cooperated with the Organization in the fields of the protection of human rights, the rule of law and the development of democracy, acceded to a number of relevant Conventions, and implemented various joint programmes.
Referring to the 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the CoE held in Reykjavik on 17 May of the current year, Minister Jeyhun Bayramov noted that such meetings play an important role in terms of discussing opportunities for expanding cooperation within the framework of the CoE.
Speaking about the work carried out under the existing Action Plan between Azerbaijan and the CoE, the sides stated that cooperation has yielded effective results, particularly in improving the justice system, developing the media and other areas.
The other side was informed in detail about the current situation in the region in the post-conflict period, the large-scale restoration and reconstruction works carried out by Azerbaijan in the liberated territories, the mine threat that poses a threat to this activity and the safety of our citizens, the reintegration of Armenian residents in the Garabagh region, and the Azerbaijan-Armenia normalization process. Speaking about the factors that conditioned the local anti-terror measures carried out in the Garabagh region in September of the current year, Minister Jeyhun Bayramov noted that the presence of illegal Armenian armed forces in our territories was one of the greatest threats of this kind. In this regard, he noted that the implementation of the aforementioned anti-terror measures played an important role in removing obstacles to the establishment of peace and security in the region. As confirmed by representatives of a number of international organizations, including the Council of Europe, who visited the region after the anti-terror measures, it was emphasized that contrary to the allegations put forward within the framework of the smear campaign conducted by Armenia against our country, no facts of violence against civilians were observed.
During the meeting, other regional issues of mutual interest were also discussed.
