Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and his Finnish counterpart Pekka Olavi Haavisto have discussed international and regional security at a meeting held on the sidelines of the 76th UN General Assembly session in New York, the Foreign Ministry reported on September 23.
Bayramov stated that despite Armenia’s three-decade aggression against Azerbaijan, the country is ready to normalize relations with its neighbor under the principles of international law.
He briefed the Finnish foreign minister about the current situation on Azerbaijan’s liberated territories, including the large-scale destruction of settlements, historical and cultural heritage by Armenia.
The sides also discussed the implementation of the terms of the trilateral statements signed by Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia and fulfillment of confidence-building measures in the region.
Bayramov spoke about the environmental damages inflicted by Armenia on Azerbaijan and Armenia-planted landmines that pose threat to human lives in the liberated lands.
He stressed that Azerbaijan is currently involved in the massive reconstruction in its liberated lands to eliminate the Armenian occupation's negative consequences.
The two officials hailed the level of cooperation and understanding between the two countries and focused on the future development of mutual relations.
The ministers underlined various aspects of the bilateral cooperation agenda, including the strengthening of political, economic, humanitarian, educational, agricultural, high tech, investment, cultural cooperation, as well as regional security.
Commenting on the mutual cooperation within the OSCE, Haavisto said that Finland is interested in expanding relations with Azerbaijan in multiple spheres. He expressed support to Azerbaijan’s position on the normalization of relations with Armenia and stressed the importance of implementing the trilateral statements.
Other issues of mutual interest, as well as international security problems, were among the top topics during the meeting.
On November 10, 2020, Baku and Yerevan signed a Moscow-brokered deal that brought an end to 44 days of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s.
On January 11, 2021, the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders signed the second statement since the end of the 44-day war. The newly-signed statement aims to implement clause 9 of the November 2020 statement related to the unblocking of all economic and transport communications in the region.
