07:28, 7 June 2015

Azerbaijan's authorities notify OSCE about closure of Baku OSCE office

Flag of OSCE. Photo: http://voskanapat.info/?p=11544

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Azerbaijan has given the OSCE a month to stop activities of its office in Baku. On June 4, the appropriate note was sent to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; however, the information about the note appeared in the media only on June 6.

According to the note issued by the MFA of Azerbaijan, starting from June 4, the OSCE is given a month to complete the technical issues regarding the termination of the memorandum of understanding on the office coordinating projects in Baku, the IA "Report.az" reports.

The OSCE has confirmed the receipt of the note and added that Baku officials provided no explanations about the reasons for such a step.

According to OSCE spokesman Shiv Sharma, the Baku officials made the decision to close the OSCE office on the background of international criticism of the Azerbaijani authorities for their infringement of civil rights and freedom of the media.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.