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Alexis Shahtakhtinski, the OSCE representative in Azerbaijan, left his post because his contract expired on May 31, OSCE told Azerbaijani information agency APA. “It has nothing to do with the mandate of the OSCE project coordinator’s office,” they said.

Earlier, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration, Novruz Mammadov, had written on his Twitter that he had learnt that the OSCE Azerbaijan Project Coordinator A. Shakhtakhtinsky’s mandate was suspended because of the photo with Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev. He wrote that according to diplomatic circles, the position of the U.S. Representative to the OSCE was the main reason, “The U.S. Representative to the OSCE Daniel Baer rebuked A. Shakhtakhtinsky for posing on the picture next to the president of Azerbaijan. Apparently, if Mr. Shakhtakhtinsky had posed next to Amb. Baer, his future career would have been more successful.”

Spokesperson for Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan, Hikmet Hajiyev, adds that France did not support the extension of the mandate of OSCE Azerbaijan project coordinator Alexis Shahtakhtinski who appears to be a citizen of that country.

OSCE informed the news agency Turan that Shahtakhtinski’s office really expired. They did not comment on Mammadov’s claims about what Daniel Baer said.

“I noticed two of your photos and they were both with the president Aliyev and foreign minister. Still, I did not see your photo with the civil society. I would just like to remind you that the consultations with the government of the host country are certainly an important part of your work. However, you work for us all, and you work on the principles this organization is based on, and the government of Azerbaijan is not your boss,” Baer told Shahtakhtinski at the meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, July 2014.

He reminded that OSCE project coordinator has “special responsibility for working with the Azerbaijani people and government to support OSCE principles, values and commitments.” “First of all, this refers to the human rights and fundamental freedoms, and maintaining strong ties with the civil society,” he added.

“OSCE project coordinator’s mandate – created upon the decision 1092 of the Permanent Committee – calls on the office to keep in touch with the civil society, also outside certain projects. We urge you to decisively observe your mandate, given the attempts to limit OSCE activities and contacts with the civil society, especially against the backdrop of the extreme toughening of the procedure of confirming the projects. All this prevents OSCE from providing Azerbaijan with valuable support, and is unacceptable,” Baer said.

The French diplomat Alexis Shahtakhtinski was appointed OSCE project coordinator and holds the post since 1 March, 2014. Earlier, in 2013, the Azerbaijan government required to lower OSCE office mandate to Project Coordinator despite Washington urging not to do that.

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