Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 18 / Trend T.Hajiyev /
The Azerbaijani parliamentary elections will not be included in the agenda of the winter session of the Parliamentary Council of the Council of Europe (PACE) as a specific issue, Head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the PACE and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on International and Interparliamentary Relations Samad Seyidov told Trend on Saturday.
"The winter session will run from Jan.24 to Jan.30. We have already started preparing for the session and we are interested in all matters," he said. "The parliamentary elections held in Azerbaijan will be included in the agenda within the overall context of elections, but not as a specific issue."
Azerbaijan held the parliamentary elections Nov. 7. The voter turnout hit about 50.14 percent (roughly 2.48 million voters), the CEC's Elections Information Center told Trend.
The CEC reported that 690 candidates were running for the parliamentary elections.
Parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan are held by the majority system in 125 constituencies. Previous parliamentary elections were held in November 2005.
Seyidov said the winter session will bring together heads of different states.
"The session will be attended by the president and foreign minister of Turkey. The session will discuss issues relating to human rights, theretofore, we are interested in all matters and intend to actively participate," Seyidov said.
He said this session is of special importance for Azerbaijan. "It will mark the 10th of Azerbaijan's membership in the PACE. We have prepared an action plan in this regard, and we intend to realize it," Seyidov said.
He said the Karabakh issue is constantly on the agenda of the PACE.
"We raise the Karabakh issue every day at every meeting. We will always keep this issue on the agenda of the PACE until this issue is resolved," Seyidov added.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.