Meeting with Ilham Aliyev

On December 8, Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, received Marija Pejčinović Burić, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the Press Office of the Azerbaijani President reported.

Burić noted that Azerbaijan has been a valued member of the Council of Europe since 2001. She recalled that Azerbaijan inked and ratified numerous conventions of the Council of Europe, including the recently signed Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Organs, describing all these as positive steps. The Secretary General of the Council of Europe commended the reforms implemented in Azerbaijan under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev. Praising Azerbaijan's steps towards ensuring a durable peace in the region, Marija Pejčinović Burić applauded a joint statement adopted between the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and the issues arising from it, particularly the steps related to confidence-building measures between the two countries. She expressed the Council of Europe's readiness to contribute to confidence-building measures between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The head of state underlined that Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe have shaped a very close cooperation over these years. President Ilham Aliyev hailed his relations with the Council of Europe and the Azerbaijani delegation’s activity at the PACE. President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that the joint statement agreed between the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia is a demonstration of mutual political will for advancing a peace agenda and normalizing relations between the two countries. The head of state emphasized that the Council of Europe is also a very good platform for fostering confidence-building processes between the two nations.

During the conversation, they emphasized the need for constructive dialogue and relations between the parliamentary delegations of Azerbaijan and Armenia at PACE. Furthermore, they noted that the practical cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe has greatly progressed. They discussed cooperation in the process of intercultural dialogue between Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe, emphasizing the crucial importance of sustaining this cooperation. The appreciation of the Council of Europe's participation as a partner in the traditional intercultural dialogue forum held in Azerbaijan, as well as the appointment of a dedicated representative within the Council of Europe to counteract trends of Islamophobia, was noted at the meeting.

Meeting with Jeyhun Bayramov

On the same day, Jeyhun Bayramov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, met with Marija Pejčinović Burić.

During the meeting, the issues on the current cooperation agenda between Azerbaijan and the CoE and the current situation in the region were exchanged. 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 areas of human rights protection, rule of law, and development of democracy, joined several relevant conventions, and implemented various joint programs. Speaking about the work done under the current Action Plan between Azerbaijan and the CoE, the parties said that cooperation in improving the justice system, media development, and other areas has yielded fruitful results.

"The other side was informed in detail about the current situation in the region during the post-conflict period, the large-scale reconstruction and reconstruction works carried out by Azerbaijan in the territories freed from occupation, the mine threat that threatens this activity and the safety of our citizens, the reintegration of the Armenian residents in the Karabakh region, the Azerbaijan-Armenia normalization process. Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, speaking about the factors determining the local anti-terrorist measures carried out in the Karabakh region in September of this year, noted that the presence of illegal Armenian armed forces in our territories is one of the biggest threats of this kind. In this direction, he noted that anti-terrorist measures play an important role in removing obstacles to establishing peace and security in the region. As confirmed by the representatives of several international organizations, including the Council of Europe, who visited the region after the anti-terrorist measures, it was emphasized that contrary to the allegations made by Armenia within the framework of the smear campaign against our country, no violence against civilians was observed," the report noted.

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