Developments in Azerbaijan

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm pleased to welcome Ambassador Burkhard [Head of the OSCE Center in Baku] once again to the Permanent Council, and I would like to thank him for his very informative report.

The United States was quite pleased with the Baku Office's efforts to bring together the series of roundtable events in advance of the August 24 referendum. As we noted at the time, however, we did have several concerns over the conduct of the referendum, which we hope will not be repeated in upcoming elections. We look forward to the December 16-17 event to discuss the draft election law.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to express our strong support for the OSCE/ODIHR [Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights] and IOM [International Organization for Migration] project that will allow Azerbaijani border service personnel to attend the Polish Border Guard Academy in Ketrzyn. Poland and the other Central European states have a great deal of relevant experience to share regarding their successful post-communist transition to a democratic, free-market system. I strongly encourage the OSCE and our Central European colleagues to explore further ways to use this experience to support our common goals.

In a similar vein, I am pleased to hear that the Kosovo Police School has been expanding its activities to assist Azerbaijan in further improving and professionalizing its police force. The United States strongly encourages the work of the Kosovo School and the OSCE Police Advisor in this area.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, I'd like to address another issue of concern that has come up at several meetings of the Permanent Council this year: the unfortunate clashes and subsequent unrest in Nardaran, outside Baku. I do not wish to repeat the discussion from earlier this year. I only wish to note that we consider the issue unresolved, and we welcome the continued interest of the OSCE and other participating States in addressing the legitimate grievances of the residents of Nardaran, without prejudice to the legitimate security concerns of the Government of Azerbaijan. We look forward to a final, equitable solution for this problem, including accountability for the tragic loss of life on June 3. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.