Azerbaijan expresses concern over Middle East security at OIC emergency session

Azerbaijan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jeyhun Bayramov, participated in and delivered a speech at the extraordinary meeting held within the framework of the 51st session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul.

In his speech, Minister Bayramov expressed concern over the sharp deterioration of the security situation in the Middle East as a result of the Israel-Iran confrontation. He emphasized that the situation poses a threat to the lives of civilians as well as to regional and international stability, and that such a state of affairs is unacceptable.

He noted with particular concern the damage inflicted on civilian and nuclear infrastructure in Iran, a neighboring country with which Azerbaijan shares strong ethnic and cultural ties and relations based on the principles of international law — especially respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the inviolability of borders. This damage, he stressed, poses a serious threat to the civilian population and the environment on a regional scale.

Minister Bayramov underscored the importance of refraining from actions that could further escalate the current situation.

In his remarks, he called for preventing yet another prolonged armed confrontation in a region already plagued by conflicts and crises. He urged the immediate cessation of all military operations and the restoration of a diplomatic process grounded in the norms and principles of international law.