Experts associate closure of OSCE office in Baku with Azerbaijani foreign policy

The reason for liquidation of the OSCE office in Baku was in the recall of Alexis Shakhtakhtinsky from the head of the office, Azerbaijani experts believe. They see the reason for closing the office in the policy of Azerbaijani authorities to curtail cooperation with Western institutions dealing with democracy.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) gave one month to the OSCE for completing the work of its office in Baku.

"The closure of the OSCE office is an indication of achieving the climax of anti-Western demarches of the official Baku," Arastun Orudjlu, the head of the "East-West" Research Centre, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to Orudjlu, the reason for closing the office was in the early termination of the mandate of the above Alexis Shakhtakhtinsky, the head of the OSCE Office in Baku, who, as he said, was "very loyal to Azerbaijani authorities." "However, we think that this is just an excuse; and the real reason is in the general policy of Azerbaijani authorities against Western institutions," said Orudjlu.

Khikmet Gadjizade, a political scientist and the head of the FAR Centre for Political and Economic Studies, also believes that the closure of the OSCE office in Baku has to do with the policy of the authorities of Azerbaijan against Western institutions involved in the field of democracy.

"The closure of the OSCE office is in line with the general policy of the Azerbaijani authorities against Western institutions, which demand democracy and respect for human rights. The Azeri regime sees a threat here, because they want to rule forever," Khikmet Gadjizade told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

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