Spanish Chairmanship says OSCE ready to help Azerbaijan with further reforms

BAKU, 4 June 2007 - Azerbaijan's further democratic development is crucial for the South Caucasus and the entire OSCE, and the Organization stands ready to help, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, said today.

Minister Moratinos, speaking during a visit to Baku, also said he was encouraged intensive mediation efforts by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs - France, Russia and the United States - had brought Azerbaijan and Armenia closer to a framework agreement on the basic principles for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"Peace would bring immense benefits to all sides and the region as a whole," the Chairman-in-Office said. "The road to peace lies through compromise. I hope the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia will be able to take an important step along that path when they meet in St Petersburg."

In meetings with President Ilham Aliyev, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and other officials, Minister Moratinos said Azerbaijan had made good progress implementing democratic reforms and he encouraged the leadership to continue that work, including in the run-up to next year's presidential election.

"The OSCE stands ready to help," the Chairman-in-Office added, noting progress already being made in areas such as community policing, the judiciary and fighting corruption with the assistance of the OSCE's Office in Baku.

Minister Moratinos is being accompanied on his trip and in the talks by the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Goran Lennmarker, who has considerable experience in the region.

The Chairman-in-Office expressed concern about freedom of opinion and expression in Azerbaijan.

"I am convinced an independent press is essential for democracy," Minister Moratinos said. "In particular, I support the call of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos Haraszti, to decriminalise libel."

The Chairman-in-Office is scheduled to meet a representative of the displaced Azerbaijani population of Nagorno-Karabakh. He is also set to meet representatives of political parties to underscore the OSCE's commitment to political pluralism and the need for constructive dialogue between the ruling and opposition parties.

The delegation will fly to Yerevan on Tuesday for a similar range of meetings with Armenian officials.