Azerbaijan, Baku, 3 April /corr. Trend I.Alizadeh / The leaders of various Azerbaijani parties discussed the issues of preparation for the upcoming Presidential elections and situation in the region with the members of the AGO Monitoring Group of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers who are on a visit to Baku.
"The key topic of the discussions was fulfillment of Azerbaijan's obligations undertaken by Azerbaijan Government before the Council of Europe," said the Head of Musavat Party, Isa Gambar, who attended the meeting.
The meeting was attended by Head of Musavat Party- Isa Gambar, Chairman of Azerbaijan Popular Front Party- Ali Kerimli, Chairman of Umid Party- Igbal Agazade, President of Public Forum 'For Azerbaijan'-Eldar Namazov and Chairman of Azerbaijan Democratic Party- Sardar Jalaloglu.
The Head of Musavat said that due to the upcoming Presidential elections in Azerbaijan in 2008, the Council of Europe and Monitoring Group are mostly interested in ensuring democracy and freedom in the country. The members of AGO highlighted their intentions to meet with the imprisoned journalists and political prisoners. "It testifies that the Council of Europe and Monitoring Group are concerned about the freedom of speech and press in Azerbaijan," Gambar said.
AGO Monitoring Group of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers keeps control on the fulfillment of Azerbaijan's obligations, undertaken by Azerbaijan Government before the Council of Europe. Within their visit to South Caucasus, members of the Group arrived in Azerbaijan on 2 April.