President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan (right) with his long-time foreign minister, Elmar Mammadyarov, whose job seems to be in jeopardy

Education Minister is Appointed Azerbaijan’s Top Diplomat

The writing has been on the wall for a while now. President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan on Thursday fired his long-time foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov, who has been in that position since 2004.

Aliyev immediately appointed Ceyhun Bayramov, Azerbaijan’s education minister to helm the foreign ministry.

Tensions between the president and the foreign ministry have been escalating for weeks, with reports circulating for weeks about Aliyev losing confidence in his long-time ally and top diplomat. The Turan news agency reporting last week that Azerbaijan’s National Security Service raided the foreign ministry and arrested top officials on charges of embezzlement as part of a larger “corruption” investigation.

Azerbaijan’s education minister Ceyhun Bayramov will replace Mammdyarov

Tensions came to a head on Wednesday when after Azerbaijani forces suffered grave losses as they brazenly attempted to breach the border with Armenia beginning Sunday,
Aliyev trashed his Mammadyarov during a cabinet meeting.

On Thursday, Turan questioned the new foreign minister’s credentials, saying Bayramov does not have experience in foreign policy or diplomacy.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairman, in a new announcement welcomed intentions by the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers’ intention to meet in the near future to discuss the settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

“The Co-Chairs welcomed the confirmation of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan to hold substantive negotiations on crucial aspects of a Nagorno-Karabakh settlement as soon as possible and emphasized the importance of returning OSCE monitors to the region as soon as circumstances allow,” said a statement issued by the top mediators on Thursday.