Yerevan /Mediamax/. UK Ambassador to OSCE Neil Holland urged Azerbaijan to stop blocking the adoption of the organization’s budget.

Speaking at the OSCE Permanent Council’s meeting, Neil Holland addressed Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov:

“Allow me to echo my colleagues and stress that for the OSCE to remain fully functional it requires strong governance and adequate funding.

We regret that the continued non-agreement of the Unified Budget is negatively impacting the work of the whole Organization. Agreement is essential to the effective running of all field operations and institutions – and we encourage Azerbaijan to engage constructively on the next revision of the Unified Budget Proposal.”

Mediamax notes that in October 2022, Azerbaijan refused to discuss the OSCE budget for 2023, thus protesting against the decision of the organization to send an evaluation mission to Armenia. Official Baku stated that the presidency and secretariat of the OSCE did not have the authority and mandate to send such a mission and made the decision in violation of the principle of consensus in the OSCE.

In his speech Neil Holland also congratulated Armenia and Azerbaijan on the progress made in the negotiations and urged to build on this momentum, stressing that only through peacefully facilitated dialogue can a lasting settlement be reached. He noted that the OSCE can make a valuable contribution to peace and stability in the region, through its versatile toolkit and valuable expertise, from conflict mediation, resolution, and monitoring to economic and environmental issues.