The statement was issued in response to George Tsereteli, the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, who addressed the OSCE Permanent Council Meeting in Vienna on Jan.25.
"Maintaining such dialogue and developing understanding on many critical issues affecting OSCE participating states is important for building trust and strengthening security in our region," the mission said, further welcoming Tsereteli's intention to visit Azerbaijan this year.
The mission stressed that Azerbaijan strongly believes in indispensable role of parliamentary diplomacy for promotion of dialogue and cooperation in the OSCE area and beyond. "This should be done, first and foremost, through promotion of and ensuring by parliamentarians respect for the principles and commitments of the OSCE, starting from the Helsinki Final Act," the mission said.
Conflicts in the OSCE area, without exception, continue to be the most serious threat to peace and security, according to the mission.
"As such, we deem it extremely important for the Parliamentary Assembly to keep this issue high on its agenda with a view to generating momentum for their earliest resolution," the mission said. "Over the past years, the Assembly in its resolutions has reaffirmed full respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of internationally recognized borders of affected participating States as a framework for the resolution of conflicts. Parliamentarians need to be more vocal and follow-up on the implementation of these provisions by the Governments of participating States and respective negotiation formats.
The mission further noted that economic and environmental dimension has untapped potential for enhancing security and stability through sustainable development. The mission hailed the intensifying work of the Parliamentary Assembly aimed at enhancing connectivity through promoting development of multimodal transport corridors and trade facilitation measures.
"The establishment of the Silk Road Support Group within the Assembly is an important practical step, in this regard. We are looking forward to the conference to be held in Baku in March 2018 entitled “The Role of Parliamentarians in boosting economic cooperation and cultural ties along the Silk Road” and would be pleased to welcome you to this event," the mission concluded.
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