Vienna/01.03.19/Turan: The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stéphane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan on 20 February and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on 21 February to discuss preparations for a meeting of the leaders in the near future, including possible topics for discussion. The Co-Chairs also held discussions with the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in their respective capitals. The Co-Chairs were joined by the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Andrzej Kasprzyk.
During the meetings in the region, the leaders briefed the Co-Chairs on their recent conversation on the margins of the World Economic Forum in Davos in January. The leaders and the Co-Chairs discussed the situation on the ground and their expectations for next steps.
The Co-Chairs assessed positively the continuing lack of casualties on the line of contact. They also welcomed the developing discussions in the region about preparing populations for peace.
The leaders accepted the Minsk Group Co-Chairs" proposal to meet soon under their auspices.
Following their visit to the region, the Co-Chairs and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office travelled to Vienna and Bratislava from 28 February to 1 March to brief the Permanent Representatives of the OSCE Minsk Group countries, OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger, and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák. -0-
Politics
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On November 14, the House of Commons of the UK Parliament held a hearing on "Academic Freedom and Corruption in Azerbaijan's Energy Sector," focusing on the issue of political prisoners in Azerbaijan. The event, organized in collaboration with Global Witness and the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, was moderated by Joe Powell, head of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Anti-Corruption.
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Head of the External Relations and Security Service of the EU Josep Borrel rejected the accusations against him and European countries made by the head of Azerbaijan at the COP29 conference the previous day.
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On Thursday, President Ilham Aliyev received the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, who arrived to participate in the COP29 climate conference.
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The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) today issued five rulings on applications from Azerbaijan. The case of "Afgan Mammadov v. Azerbaijan" concerned the complainant's exclusion from the Bar Association. Mammadov was expelled based on a complaint filed by a colleague, which he considered unjust. The ECHR ruled that Mammadov's rights had been violated and ordered Azerbaijan to pay him €5,000 in compensation for moral damage and €1,000 to cover legal costs.
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