Azerbaijan will not consider draft budget of OSCE for the next year
  • POLITICS

  • 13:47 21 October 2022

Azerbaijan will not consider draft budget of OSCE for the next year

"Rather than contributing to the achievement of the above-mentioned goals and building trust and confidence in the region, refusal to cooperate with Azerbaijan and choosing to send this purported "needs assessment unilaterally" with apparent pre-determined objectives and outcomes will have the opposite effect," it was stated in the statement released during the budget discussions of the organization for 2023 in the OSCE Permanent Council on behalf of the Delegation of Azerbaijan to the OSCE, ONA reports.

It is noteworthy that such a unilateral visit was announced after the latest high-level meeting, which took place on 6 October in Prague, where the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan confirmed their commitment to the Charter of the United Nations and the Alma Ata 1991 Declaration, through which both recognize each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty. It was also confirmed that this would be a basis for the work of the border delimitation commissions, the next meeting of which had been planned to be held in Brussels by the end of October. At the meeting in Prague, the idea of a possible OSCE action was raised only to conclude that there is no agreement on such a mission. Azerbaijan did not object to the civilian EU mission on the territory of Armenia along the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan as an additional confidence-building measure. What we observe now is deviation from the agreements reached in Prague. Thus, at this critical juncture, when the sides are moving ahead with the next crucial steps in the normalization process, instead of being extremely cautious not to harm or jeopardize this sensitive fragile process, this unilateral step will do exactly that. As such, this action will further limit the role and visibility of the OSCE in the region as an honest broker and will further erode trust in this Organisation, which was already severely damaged by the OSCE Minsk Group and its Co-chairs and other OSCE structures with their double standards and track record of failure to produce any result except consolidation of unlawful occupation by Armenia of the territories of Azerbaijan.

The OSCE is a common asset of all 57 participating States. We will not tolerate blatant violation and disregard of the OSCE documents and decisions and will resist attempts to erode the remaining cooperative spirit within this Organisation. This unilateral action raises questions about the objectives and programs in support of achieving these objectives as presented in the draft Unified Budget Proposal for 2023. Until the current situation is rectified and compliance with the OSCE documents and decisions is restored, the Delegation of Azerbaijan will not be in a position to consider the Budget Proposal, including the Post Tables and the resource costs required.

The Delegation of Azerbaijan reserves its right to come back to this issue when it deems it appropriate.

I request that this statement be attached to the journal of the day.

ONA

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