Armenia-Azerbaijan Civil Peace Platform appeal to OSCE MG co-chairs

Today, it is very important for people of Azerbaijan and Armenia, apart from the leaderships of the two countries, to join their efforts to accelerate the early settlement of the long standing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In this connection, the First General Assembly of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Civil Peace Platform was held in Tbilisi on October 30.

During the Assembly, its participants appealed to the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

The issue on the agenda was the establishment of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Civil Peace Platform on the basis of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Platform and adoption of its Charter.

Based on the Charter, the decisions were made regarding the number of the members of the Steering Committee and the Central ControlInspection Commission of the Civil Peace Platform, as well as their representation principles and members.

The Congress decided to create the Steering Committee of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Civil Peace Platform from the representatives of the OSCE Minsk Group states mediating in the peaceful settlement of the NagornoKarabakh conflict between the two countries.

Thus, the proportion of members of the Steering Committee consisting of 19 members is determined as follows: five from Azerbaijan and Armenia each and nine from each of the other Minsk Group participating countries. At the end, the Final Decision and Statement of the General Assembly were adopted. The Assembly decided to open offices of the Platform in Tbilisi, Yerevan and Baku and hold public meetings in Azerbaijan and Armenia.

After the General Assembly was closed, the new Steering Committee held its first meeting.

At the meeting, in accordance with the Charter of the Platform, the co-chairing institute was established and Rovshan Rzayev from Azerbaijan and Rafael Isakhanyan from Armenia were elected as the co-chairs of the Steering Committee for one year.

Then the Steering Committee presented for discussions a list of the Experts Council of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Civil Peace Platform. Following the voting, the Expert Council consisting of 29 people was approved.

The decisive process of bringing together the people of Azerbaijan and Armenia on boosting the settlement of the conflict started in December 2016, when the Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Platform was founded in Baku by a group of Azerbaijani and Armenian public figures and peacekeepers. It was created to bring together representatives of civil society of the two countries for creating dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the sides to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

However, this initiative was negatively perceived by the Armenian government, which started persecution of those Armenians who joined the Platform.

Despite this, many people from both Azerbaijan and Armenia and other countries continue to join the Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Platform, created to accelerate the process of peaceful settlement of the NagornoKarabakh conflict through the people's diplomacy, and this initiative, of course, should be continued, in order to bring the desired peace to the region.

The illegal visit of Mexican MPs to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan will be investigated, said President of Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies Jorge Carlos Ramirez Marin.

He made the remarks at a meeting with Azerbaijan’s Charge d’Affaires in Mexico Mammad Talibov, the Azerbaijani embassy in Mexico reported on October 31.

During the meeting, Ramirez Marin stressed that Mexico is interested in further strengthening of friendship and cooperation ties with Azerbaijan.

He expressed deep regret on the illegal visit of three Mexican MPs, representing political parties MORENA and RPD, to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, and stressed that these MPs’ actions in no way reflect the position of Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies or their political parties.

Ramirez Marin also asked the Chairman of the Congressional Commission on Foreign Relations to investigate the issue and take appropriate measures to avoid such cases in future.

During the meeting, Talibov provided his interlocutor with comprehensive information on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan. He noted that this incident is another provocation of official Yerevan, which once again exposed the unconstructive nature of the Armenian authorities’ actions.

Ramirez Marin, in turn, noted that Mexico’s position on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict remains unchanged, and underscored that the Chamber of Deputies supports four UN Security Council resolutions on the conflict which demand restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.

Back in 2011, Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies adopted a resolution urging Armenia to implement the UN Security Council resolutions.

The Azerbaijani embassy in Mexico also noted that after it investigated the issue, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry sent a diplomatic note to the Mexican Foreign Ministry, as well as letters to the chairmen of the Chamber of Deputies and the Azerbaijan-Mexico Friendship Group. These documents expressed serious concern of the official Baku in connection with the illegal visit of Mexican MPs, and noted that such visits are provocative and unacceptable. The documents also demanded to investigate these actions and take appropriate measures to avoid their recurrence in future.

Previously, the Mexican Ambassador to Azerbaijan Juan Rodrigo Labardini Flores has also noted that the trip of Mexican diplomats to the territories of Azerbaijan occupied by the Armenian armed forces does not reflect the official position of the Mexican government on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Labardini said that the Mexican government learned about the visit only after it took place.

“Mexico stands for a peaceful settlement of the NagornoKarabakh conflict, which has been going on for a long time. The position of the Mexican government on this issue is very clear. We urge Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve the conflict through the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs,” Labardini said.

Unauthorized visits to NagornoKarabakh and other regions of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia are considered illegal, and any individuals paying such visits are included in the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's list of undesirable persons. Baku continues the work to prevent such illegal actions, and the foreign citizens should keep their eyes peeled in order not to be deceived by Armenian occupiers.