Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Foreign Ministries of Azerbaijan and Latvia hold consultations
On October 26, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Latvia held political consultations via video conference.
Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov and Undersecretary of State, Political Director of the Foreign Ministry Janis Mazeiks led the Azerbaijani and Latvian delegations accordingly.
During the consultations, the sides analyzed the current state of relations between the two countries and exchanged views on the prospects of cooperation. The officials expressed satisfaction with the high level of political dialogue between Azerbaijan and Latvia. In this regard, the signing of the Declaration on the Establishment of the Strategic Partnership between Azerbaijan and Latvia in 2017 was assessed as a special event.
The sides also mentioned that the bilateral economic cooperation has great potential, and expressed confidence in the possibility of holding the next eighth meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission in 2021 to discuss and resolve issues related to the promotion of economic, trade, scientific, technical and cultural ties.
They also discussed ties in the fields of culture, science and education, and expressed satisfaction with the fact that many young Azerbaijanis choose Latvian universities each year.
The sides also exchanged views on the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Khalafov thanked Latvia for supporting Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
The Deputy Minister informed the Latvian side about Armenia's aggressive policy against Azerbaijan, including the military provocation carried out on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border on July 12-16 and another act of military aggression against Azerbaijan on September 27. Khalafov noted that the Armenian armed forces continue to violate the humanitarian ceasefire, deliberately fire missiles at Azerbaijani cities, civilians and civilian infrastructure far from the conflict zone. He stressed that recent military provocations against Azerbaijan since September 27, killed 65 civilians and injured about 300 civilians.
The Deputy Minister said that Azerbaijan continues military-political measures for the liberation of the territories occupied by Armenia, based on its right of self-defense within its internationally recognized borders. He also noted that the Armenian military-political leadership bears full responsibility for the war waged by the Armenian occupying forces against the Azerbaijani Armed Forces in Azerbaijan. Khalafov added that lasting peace in the region cannot be ensured until the Armenian armed forces leave the territories of Azerbaijan.
The parties also exchanged views on other regional and international issues of mutual interest.