No: 556/22 Press Release on the Meeting of Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov with Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher
02 December 2022 15:30
On 2 December 2022, within the framework of his participation in the 29th Meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in the city of Łódź, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov met with Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.
During the conversation, the high level of Azerbaijan-Vatican relations and the regularity of bilateral meetings were noted with satisfaction.
Minister Jeyhun Bayramov noted that Azerbaijan attaches great importance to the relations between our countries, and stated that a separate Embassy of Azerbaijan in the Vatican would begin operating in this regard, expressing his confidence that this would serve the further development of cooperation.
The Minister also provided detailed information to the other side on the situation following the 44-day Patriotic War, as well as on the crimes committed against nature, vandalism and the destroyed cultural and religious heritage in our liberated territories. It was noted that Azerbaijan is carrying out the restoration of infrastructure and transport-communication lines in our liberated territories. In addition, detailed information was provided on the ongoing threat of mines and other provocations perpetrated by Armenia. Attention was drawn to the fact that there is still no information on more than 3,800 Azerbaijanis who have been missing since the early 1990s.
Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See Paul Richard Gallagher expressed his hope for the normalization of relations and the restoration of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. He emphasized that the opening of Azerbaijan's Embassy in the Vatican is an important step, and underlined the necessity of enhancing efforts for the further expansion of relations.
The meeting also noted with satisfaction Azerbaijan's participation in the restoration of historical sites of the Vatican, highlighting that this is regarded as a contribution to intercultural dialogue.
