Osce @en – European Affairs Magazine

Italy will continue to support intensifying ties between Azerbaijan, EU

17 Maggio 2017 BreakingNews @en di

Italy will continue to firmly support intensifying relations between Azerbaijan and the EU, Foreign Minister of Italy Angelino Alfano said in his letter addressed to his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said. Angelino Alfano underlined that during the past 25 years the two countries have established important cooperation especially in the economic field and that Italy gradually becoming the main trade partner of Azerbaijan. Mammadyarov instead, expressed his hope that Italy as member of the OSCE Troika starting from 2017, will make efforts for the soonest and just settlement of Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict based on the norms and principles of international law.

Serbia to turn to UN over Walker's statement

11 Maggio 2017 BreakingNews @en di

Belgrade will address the UN because of a statement made by the former head of the OSCE verification mission in Kosovo. This comes after reports that William Walker spoke about his work on a project of creating the Greater Albania. Walker is known for heading the OSCE “verification mission” in the Kosovo, whose activities and reports during 1998 and 1999 influenced the public opinion abroad in favor of launching a war against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Earlier that year the bodies of 45 Albanians were discovered in the village of Racak and the Walker-led OSCE mission accused Serbian security forces for killing them without presenting any evidence – although it was never determined whether the victims were in fact civilians. Reports coming from the Serbian side said that Albanian terrorists – members of the KLA – were the ones killed in Racak, but in the West, the event was qualified as a crime against civilians, used as an excuse to launch NATO’s bombing of Serbia. According to the Minister without portfolio, Jadranka Jankovic, who is in charge of EU integration, Walker’s statement is proof that the Greater Albania project is not merely flirted with at election time, but is instead “something that exists and is not only Serbia’s problem. It includes the territory of several countries in the Balkans, and I think all of us need to be concerned”.

Ilham Aliyev receives OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs

12 Marzo 2017 BreakingNews @en di

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan IlhamAliyev has today received the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Stephane Visconti, Igor Popov, Richard Hoagland and Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk. Russian co-chair said despite the fact that the OSCE Minsk Group includes new co-chairs from the US and France, the MG co-chair countries’ position on peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains unchanged. He added the co-chair countries want to launch substantial peace talks as soon as possible.

US co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group to visit Azerbaijan

8 Marzo 2017 BreakingNews @en di

Richard Hoagland, the US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, will visit Azerbaijan by the end of this week, the US Embassy in Azerbaijan said today. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister ElmarMammadyarov has earlier said the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs will visit the South Caucasus region in March to mull the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement.

Necessity of prompt negotiations between Armenian and Azerbaijani

1 Marzo 2017 BreakingNews @en di

The latest incident on the line of contact between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops once again underscores the urgent need for the parties to immediately resume negotiations on establishing lasting security and peace in the region, OSCE Minsk Group US Co-Chair Ambassador Richard Hoagland said. “In our February 25 statement, my fellow co-chairs and I retreated our call for respect for the ceasefire and a commitment to the non-use of force”, he added.

The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group don't accept the results of the referendum on Feb. 20

19 Febbraio 2017 BreakingNews @en di

The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group met Feb. 16 with the Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian and the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan ElmarMammadyarov, separately and then jointly, said a statement of the OSCE MG co-chairs Feb. 17. The OSCE MG co-chairs underscored again that no countries, including Armenia and Azerbaijan, recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent and sovereign state, according to the statement. “Accordingly, the co-chairs do not accept the results of the referendum on Feb. 20 as affecting the legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh. The co-chairs also stress that the results in no way prejudge the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh or the outcome of the ongoing negotiations to bring a lasting and peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict”, said the statement. “The co-chairs plan to travel to the region in March.

OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs do not accept the results of the February 20 referendum, undermining the legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh

18 Febbraio 2017 Asia @en/BreakingNews @en di

The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group met Feb. 16 with the Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian and the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov, separately and then jointly, said a statement of the OSCE MG co-chairs Feb. 17. The OSCE MG co-chairs underscored again that no countries, including Armenia and Azerbaijan, recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent and sovereign state, according to the statement. “Accordingly, the co-chairs do not accept the results of the referendum on Feb. 20 as affecting the legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh. The co-chairs also stress that the results in no way prejudge the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh or the outcome of the ongoing negotiations to bring a lasting and peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict”, said the statement. “The co-chairs plan to travel to the region in March”.

Azerbaijani FM, OSCE MG co-chairs to meet in Munich

16 Febbraio 2017 BreakingNews @en/Middle East - Africa di

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov will discuss the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group (MG), Hikmat Hajiyev, spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, said. Hajiyev noted that the meeting will be held as part of the Munich Security Conference, scheduled for Feb. 17-19. Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian is also expected to meet within the OSCE MG co-chairs within the Munich Security Conference.

Russia positively assesses OSCE’s contribution to solve Ukraine’s crisis

10 Dicembre 2016 BreakingNews @en di

After a meeting of OSCE’s Ministerial Council, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, affirmed that Russia positively assesses the contribution of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to settling the crisis in eastern Ukraine. Lavrov also said that the Donbass roadmap does not replace the Minsk agreements on the Ukrainian conflict resolution. Regarding to OSCE’s armed mission in Donbass, neither member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has supported an idea to deploy an armed police mission in Donbass. Speaking about the particular status of Donbass into Ucrainian Constitution, Lavrov affirmed that the law on Donbass’ special status, enshrined in Ukraine’s Constitution on a permanent basis, would be a sufficient security guarantee for the election process according to Minsk’s agreements.

Armenia and Azerbaijan on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

10 Dicembre 2016 BreakingNews @en di

Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia Elmar Mammadyarov and Edward Nalbandian discussed the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in Hamburg on December 8 evening in the presence of foreign ministers of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries (Russia, US, France), Hikmat Hajiyev, spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, told APA on Dec. 9. The conflict settlement was discussed during a working dinner, which was held at the invitation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, added Hajiyev. During the dinner, the sides also had an exchange of views on the continuation of talks and the issues on the 2017 agenda, he noted.