Azerbaijani Foreign Minister to Participate at NATO and OSCE Meetings

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov is slated to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ministerial meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels on December 7. The Foreign Minister will followed up with his attendance at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OCSE) December 8-9.

While in Brussels, Minister Mammadyarov is expected to deliver a speech and hold bilateral meetings related to the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission (RSM), the successor operational command to the long-standing and large-scale International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

Azerbaijani forces have long-served under ISAF command in Afghanistan while Azerbaijan has served as a key hub for the transit of troops and materiale headed for ISAF commands in Afghanistan. The primary focus of these meetings is Afghanistan’s political and economic situation, and plans regarding future operations in that nation. 

Minister Mammadyarov will follow up meetings in Brussels with a stop in Hamburg, Germany, where he will join the 23rd Ministerial Council of the OSCE. 

Reports have circulated as to the possibility of a meeting between the Azerbaijani Foreign Minster and his counterpart, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian. However, Minister Mammadyarov said earlier this month that Armenian side’s response regarding a meeting was not forthcoming and that, 

“That means they generally do not support the peace process.”

The annual meeting is a traditional platform for the foreign ministers of the 57 OSCE-participating states to review and assess the Organization's activities and to strengthen dialogue on security issues in the OSCE area.