OSCE PA’s 23rd Annual Session began today in Baku, with parliamentarians from 57 countries discussing most current political, security and economic issues.

Special debates on the situation in Ukraine and challenges of the OSCE in the context of strengthening extremism, radicalism and xenophobia will be held during the Session. 

President of the OSCE PA, Mr Ranko Krivokapić, in his Annual Session opening statement said that the Parliamentary Assembly, with its active role in the past year, has shown a clear willingness to be involved in the resolution of the most sensitive political and security issues, like Ukrainian crisis.

″The Ukrainian crisis has put to the test all the capacities of the OSCE, to achieve the basic purpose of its existence - peace and stability in Europe. With the great political engagement, presence on the field, courage and sacrifice of representatives of all the institutions of the OSCE, consistently without the right to withdraw, we contribute to finding solutions to the Ukrainian crisis″, Mr Krivokapić said.

He reminded of the parliamentary meeting of representatives of the Russian and Ukrainian delegation to the OSCE PA, as an important contribution to the process of de-escalation, which was held in Vienna in April this year, in the very period of culmination of the crisis.

President Krivokapić thanked all structures of the OSCE for cooperation, in particular the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and the Swiss Confederation President, Mr Didier Burkhalte.

At the opening of the Session, opening remarks were delivered by Azerbaijani President, Mr Ilham Aliyev, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and the Swiss Confederation President, Mr Didier Burkhalte, and the Speaker of the Parliament of Azerbaijan, Mr Ogtay Asadov.

Mr Krivokapić and Mr Aliyev spoke of the OSCE PA activities and the contribution of Azerbaijan to aims and principles of the Organization, as well as bilateral cooperation between Montenegro and the Republic of Azerbaijan. In this context both sides rated as very good the relations between the two countries, which were particularly manifested through economic cooperation, which already had its own specific testimony of the presence of significant Azerbaijani investors in Montenegro.

President Krivokapić held talks on bilateral relations of the two countries with the Speaker of the Parliament of Azerbaijan, Mr Ogtay Asadov, as well.