Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry Responds to OSCE Mission's Deployment to Yerevan

Regarding the deployment of a mission group of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to Armenia, it is important to note that the question of such a mission has never been discussed by any collective body of the OSCE that makes decisions, and no decision has been made in this regard. This was stated in a declaration by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. Azerbaijani media outlets report:

“Any group referred to as the 'OSCE mission to assess Armenia's needs' does not possess an OSCE mandate and cannot be connected to the OSCE in any way,” the aggressor country emphasized.

According to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Armenia's unilateral initiative is nothing more than a personal visit by a group of participating states, and any outcomes from such a visit will be evaluated accordingly.

Baku believes that sending such a group to Armenia raises serious questions. “This step raises serious issues, considering that the efforts to cease military aggression against Azerbaijan and to eliminate its severe consequences over the past 30 years, and even efforts within missions not related to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, have been consistently halted by the OSCE, citing the principle of consensus. The fact is that, due to Armenia’s clearly unconstructive position, years were required to agree on the consensus within the OSCE for two missions in Azerbaijan’s previously occupied territories in 2005 and 2010. Taking into account the numerous facts of illegal activities in Azerbaijan's occupied territories, including the illegal settlement of those territories, an application for yet another similar mission by Azerbaijan did not take place until 2020, once again due to Armenia’s resistance.

Such unilateral actions by the OSCE presidency and secretariat, among other things, contradict the fundamental principles of responsible and reliable mediation and trust-building, which require the consent of the parties, the impartiality of mediators, and the fulfillment of states' obligations arising from international law,” the statement from the aggressor country's Foreign Ministry said.