The head of the OSCE PA delegation, deputy Azay Guliyev, talked about the general debate: “European Security Today and Tomorrow: Parliamentary Perspectives on the Future of the OSCE”.

Axar.az presents the text of his speech:

Madam President,

Esteemed colleagues,

The European security landscape is currently undergoing a period of significant challenges and uncertainty as the war in Ukraine casts a long shadow, reminding us of the fragility of peace and the importance of upholding international law and principles.

As an OSCE participating State, Azerbaijan is firmly committed to the organization's principles and values, a nation that has long suffered from blatant violations of the fundamental principles of international law and strives for peace and stability in the Caucasus region and beyond.

Madam President,

Your visit to Azerbaijan last November, together with Special Representative on South Caucasus Kari Henriksen and Secretary General Roberto Montella provided a good opportunity to discuss and receive firsthand updates on the developments in our region following Azerbaijan's restoration of its full sovereignty over its entire internationally recognized territory.

We acknowledge the potential of the OSCE PA as an effective platform to contribute to trust and confidence-building efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan as there is a historic opportunity to turn the page of confrontation and establish good-neighbourly relations.

Last December Azerbaijan and Armenia enjoyed mutual compromises regarding COP-29 and swapping convicted military personnel based on a bilateral agreement which must be considered as a remarkable outcome of bilateral negotiations.

I do believe that this momentum needs to be maintained, all efforts must be directed at encouraging both countries to engage through bilateral dialogue to ultimately achieve normalization and signing a peace treaty.
Unfortunately, along with such positive examples we have been witnessing at the Parliamentary Assembly a continued smear campaign against Azerbaijan.

The blames in particular by French parliamentarians here that Azerbaijan allegedly has claims or plans with regard to the territory of Armenia which are absolutely groundless and are simply designed as a pretext to support the militarization efforts of this country.

It is not coincidental that the French government has just two days ago reconfirmed its militarization policy and pledged new arms deals with Armenia.

Such a policy of France will only damage already fragile peace and security in the region and seriously affect the normalization process and therefore must be stopped.

Thank you!