On 14 March, the OSCE Chairperson in Office Ann Linde visited Azerbaijan where she met with the country’s President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov.

According to Aliyev’s press service, at first a one-on-one meeting took place, and then in an expanded format. “We attach great importance to your visit. OSCE is an organisation directly involved in the resolution of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Thus, now the conflict remains in history, and we must look to the future. Today we discussed with you how to build future work. I think that the last 4 months after the war have already demonstrated the will of both sides to close the page and direct attention to the future,” Aliyev said. He noted that Azerbaijan has already begun the restoration of the Azerbaijani-controlled territories in Nagorno-Karabakh and that the area of ​​the completely destroyed territory is more than 10 thousand square kilometres.

In turn, Ann Linde said that the main priority of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office is to protect the security system in Europe and to support a comprehensive concept of security linking security with democracy, human rights and the rule of law. “Of course, we will consider what we can do to contribute to the settlement of the conflict on the OSCE territory. Therefore, in this context, of course, the priority issues for us are international law, international human rights, humanitarian law, women, peace and security. I think we can work together on these issues,” she said.

At the meeting with Bayramov, Azerbaijan’s cooperation with the OSCE in the fields of economy and security was discussed. Bayramov noted that new reality emerged in the region, new transit opportunities may cause significant enrichment of the dialogue between Azerbaijan and the OSCE. “The situation created in the region creates a fertile opportunity for the establishment of a new safety format, expanding cooperation between countries. Projects implemented between the OSCE and Azerbaijan may give an important contribution to the stabilisation of relations in this direction. There are significant opportunities in post-war mine clearance, building trust between communities and other areas,” he stated.

Another topic of discussion between Bayramov and Linde was the process of the prisoner of war exchange between Azerbaijan and Armenia after the Second Karabakh war. “The Armenians in captivity are not prisoners of war who should be released as part of the trilateral statement on 10 November 2020. They were sent to Azerbaijan after the conclusion of the armistice and contrary to the trilateral statement, which implies the withdrawal of Armenian forces from Karabakh. However, after the signing of this document, the Armenian authorities sent over 60 servicemen there from the Shirak region of Armenia. These soldiers committed acts of sabotage, killing soldiers of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, and will be held accountable before the law,” Bayramov stated in front of Linde.