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Azerbaijan is closing the OSCE office in Baku. According to the information agency Turan, the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan sent the respective letter to the OSCE head office in Vienna on 3 June 2015.

"The government of Azerbaijan has reported that there is no need for more activities of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Baku. Therefore, the Government of Azerbaijan considers null and void from the June 4, 2015 the action ‘of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Azerbaijan and the OSCE on the OSCE Project Coordinator in Baku,’ reads the letter signed September 24, 2014. The government provides the OSCE one month to complete the technical issues that arise in such a situation," the letter reads.

Turan writes that on June 5 OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier informed the OSCE member states about the decision of official Baku. Turan also reminds that two years ago Baku lowered OSCE representative’s level from embassy to OSCE project coordinator.

“This abrupt step was apparently Baku’s reaction to the withdrawal of the current coordinator Alexis Shahtakhtinski who was accused by OSCE of ignoring the problems of the civil society in Azerbaijan and of maintaining too close ties with the country leadership. By this, Baku made clear that it has no wish to see really independent OSCE representatives in the country,” Turan writes.

According to the information agency, it is hard to predict the effects of such an unprecedented step of closing OSCE office ahead of July 4 – the Day of Independence of the US. According to the reports, it was the US representative in OSCE who sharply criticized Shahtakhtinski’s activity.

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