There are double standards in the Council of Europe, member of Azerbaijani delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Gultekin Hajibeyli said on September 29, addressing the Chairman of CE Committee of Ministers, Slovenian Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar at the plenary meeting.
“There are double standards in the Council of Europe. Presently, cessation of the Russian delegation’s authority is discussed in the Council of Europe. Why are not these sanctions applied towards Armenia? Armenia has occupied 20 percent of territory of another member of the Council of Europe – Azerbaijan for 15 years. But no sanctions are applied towards it, ” MP said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan lost all of Nagorno-Karabakh except for Shusha and Khojali in December 1991. In 1992-93, Armenian armed forces occupied Shusha, Khojali and 7 districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. – are currently holding the peace negotiations.
“I think that there are no double standards in the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe equally considers both Azerbaijani and Armenian situations. If it deals with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the OSCE Minsk Group deals with it. We welcome its efforts.
We hope that the conflict will be solved soon. We exchanged views on this issue with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister during the meeting in New York. I think that the Council of Europe can not play big role in this issue. It does not deal with solving of this issue. Everybody admits that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a serious problem. I can say that refugees and internally displaced people left Nagorno-Karabakh must return their homes in the nearest future, ” chairman of the committee of ministers said.
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