OSCE Chairman-in-Office Rau concludes visit to Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia

WARSAW, 2 April 2022 — The OSCE Chairman-in-Office and Poland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Zbigniew Rau, concluded his visit to Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. The trip focused on existing security challenges and efforts towards sustainable peace as well as strengthening the co-operation between the OSCE and the three states in the South Caucasus region. Throughout the visit from 29 March to 1 April, Minister Rau noted the impact Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has exerted on the security situation in the region. In all capitals he paid particular attention to the situation of the conflict-affected populations.

In Georgia, the OSCE Chairman met with President Salome Zourabichvili, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Vice Prime Minister and Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani, and First Deputy Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia George Volski joined by other parliamentarians from the ruling party and opposition. During his talks in Tbilisi, Minister Rau reiterated the OSCE’s support for Georgia in resolving its internal and external challenges, including through the OSCE’s continued efforts in the Geneva International Discussions and meetings of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism.

“We will continue our substantive support for Georgia in meeting its commitments in all three dimensions of the OSCE. The conflict context remains a priority and I am hereby represented by my Special Representative Ambassador Viorel Moșanu,” said Minister Rau. “Our goal will be to sustain diplomatic processes, maintain open communication channels and avoid deliberate or accidental escalation,” he added.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office  also thanked his Georgian partners for Tbilisi’s engagement in the peace processes in the South Caucasus, including the Peaceful Neighbourhood Initiative. He also held a visit, organised with the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia, to the administrative boundary line in Odzisi.

During his visit to Azerbaijan, the OSCE Chairman met with President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov. The talks focused on the OSCE’s engagement towards lasting and sustainable peace, and finding solutions to outstanding issues between Azerbaijan and Armenia. “We hope to make headway, particularly in urgent humanitarian issues, such as the release of detainees, exchange of information about missing persons, demining, and protection of historical and cultural sites,” he stressed.

In Baku, as well as in Yerevan, Rau highlighted the role of his Personal Representative Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk and offered that his involvement could be enhanced: “His work can bring added value by promoting security, building trust, facilitating humanitarian access and contributing to other vital issues”.

In Armenia, Minister Rau met with President Vahagn Khachaturyan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan. “Poland’s Chairmanship of the Organization strongly supports all initiatives aimed to facilitate dialogue, which is indispensable to deescalate the persisting tensions on the ground. We are calling on both Armenia and Azerbaijan to engage in negotiations in good faith in order to come up with a comprehensive solution to all unresolved issues,” he stressed.

Minister Rau emphasized the OSCE’s positive contribution to reform efforts through the “Armenia Co-operation Programme”. He also proposed ideas on how the Organization could consolidate its efforts in and with Armenia and assist the country in dealing with current challenges.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office furthermore welcomed the diplomatic initiative to normalize relations between Armenia and Turkey, underling that “this process could help improve stability in the wider region.”