Azerbaijan approves regulations of commission on border delimitation, security with Armenia FULL TEXT/UPDATED

Azerbaijan has approved the regulations for the organization and holding of meetings and joint working meetings between the State Commission on State Border Delimitation between the Republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia and the Commission on State Border Delimitation and Border Security between the Republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The relevant decision was signed by Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov.

Trend presents the full text of the regulation:

1. The order of organization and holding of meetings and joint working meetings between the State Commission on Delimitation of the State Border between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia and the Commission on Delimitation of the State Border and Border Security between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan (hereinafter referred to as the Commission).

1.1 The date, time, and place of meetings and joint working meetings are determined upon agreement between the Chairmen of the Commissions.

1.2 The working languages of the sittings and joint working meetings are Russian or English.

1.3 Meetings and joint working meetings are to be chaired by the chairpersons of the commissions.

1.4 Sessions and joint working meetings are held by agreement of the Chairpersons of the Commissions, as a rule, alternately on the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, or the border of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, or the territory of third countries, or in the format of a videoconference.

1.5 The agendas of the meetings and joint working meetings, the list of delegations (except for the members of the commissions), and protocol issues related to the organization of the meetings and joint working meetings are determined by the agreement of the chairpersons of the commissions.

1.6. Foreign experts participating in the delegations may speak only on behalf of the Commission, whose delegations they are members of.

1.7 Upon agreement of the Commissions and joint request, third parties may provide advisory assistance at meetings and joint working meetings.

1.8 When meetings and joint working meetings are held on the territory of one of the states represented by the commissions, the host party must create all necessary conditions for their holding, including ensuring and guaranteeing the security of all members of the visiting delegation.

1.9 Meetings and joint working meetings are to be held in private unless otherwise agreed by the Chairpersons of the Commissions.

1.10. Any information on the course and outcome of the meetings and joint working meetings, including draft working and agreed documents and minutes of the meetings and joint working meetings, may be passed to a third party only in cases of prior agreement between the chairpersons of the commissions.

2. Procedure for drawing up minutes on the results of meetings and joint working meetings.

2.1 The minutes of the meetings and joint working meetings are to be drawn up in writing in two original copies in Russian or, upon agreement, in English.

2.2 The minutes are to be signed by both chairpersons of the commissions.

2.3 Officials of the States represented by the Commissions are to refrain from making any public, official reference to the minutes signed by the Chairpersons if the minutes are marked "confidential."

3. Procedure for publication of messages to the mass media (hereinafter, mass media) on the results of meetings and joint working meetings.

3.1 As a rule, as a result of meetings and joint working meetings, media reports are to be prepared and published, the content of which is to be approved by the Chairpersons of the Commissions.

3.2 The agreed texts of media releases are to be published simultaneously by the Commissions.

3.3 Except as provided for in paragraph 2.3, any official references by officials of states represented by the Commissions to documents of meetings and joint working sessions are to be limited exclusively to the literal content of the agreed and approved media advisory.

3.4 Any official references, interpretations, or comments made by officials of states represented by the Commissions on the outcome of meetings and joint working meetings outside the literal content of the media advisories are not to be permitted and are not to be valid.

3.5 By agreement of the Chairpersons of the Commissions, the content of the media advisories of the Commissions on mutually defined issues may differ.

3.6 If the Commissions do not agree on the content of a media release, they agree to publish information limited to the facts of meetings and joint working meetings. In this case, in their public statements, officials of one state represented by the Commission are not entitled to address any arrangements, announcements, statements, interventions, and judgments of the other state represented by the Commission during the meetings and joint working meetings.

3.7 These Rules of Procedure are to be approved by the governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia and are to enter into force from the date of official publication. In case of any disagreement in the interpretation of the provisions of these Rules of Procedure, the officially agreed-upon and transmitted text in Russian will be used.

14:20

"The regulations on organization and holding of meetings and joint working meetings between the State Commission on Delimitation of the State Border between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia and the Commission on Delimitation of the State Border and Border Security Issues between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan" have been approved.

The relevant decree was signed by Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov, APA reports.

The State Commission on Delimitation of the State Border between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia must solve the issues arising from this Decree.

In May 2022, Baku and Yerevan established their respective border delimitation commissions as a manifestation of reciprocity in aspirations for fetching a “happy end” to the protracted issue.

The fifth meeting of the State Commission on the delimitation of the state border between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the Commission on the delimitation of the state border and Border Security between Armenia and Azerbaijan was held on November 30.

The meeting took place on the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia under the chairmanship of the Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev and the Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan.

The parties discussed several organizational and procedural matters and proceeded with their discussion on delimitation issues.

Moreover, they had reached an initial agreement regarding the text of the Regulation on the organization and holding of meetings and joint working meetings between the State Commission on the delimitation of the state border between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia and the Commission on the delimitation of the state border and Border Security between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The sides agreed to start the work on the negotiation of the draft Regulation on the joint activities of the State Commission on the delimitation of the state border between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia and the Commission on delimitation of the state border and Border Security between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The parties also agreed to intensify the meetings of the commissions and determine the date and venue for the next meeting of the Commissions.