Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 22 / Trend M. Aliyev /
The Azerbaijani Parliament has criticised Turkish President Abdullah Gul's congratulating his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan on the occasion of his re-election as Armenian president.
"An opinion was voiced that the congratulations were expressed as a sign of courtesy," speaker Oqtay Asadov said at a plenary session of the legislative body today. "It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that no matter how many signs of politeness may be expressed to Armenia, it uses this for other purposes. One must not aggravate the issue. It is necessary to consider it from other perspectives."
Asadov also commented on the position of a number of international organisations that have made statements about the democratic presidential elections in Armenia.
"One must be more careful and cautious in case of a lack of final results of the elections in Armenia as international organisations evaluate them as fair and democratic," he said.
Deputy Executive Secretary of New Azerbaijan Party Mubariz Gurbanli regretted the Turkish President's congratulating his Armenian counterpart on the results of possible 'rigged' elections in Armenia.
One can understand the Russian President's congratulations rather than that of the Turkish President, Gurbanli said.
MPs called on the public organisations to discuss the issue.
Earlier, the Turkish President has congratulated Armenian counterpart on his re-election.
Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that Turkey's predecessor, the Ottoman Empire committed genocide in 1915 against Armenians living in Anadolu. Their efforts have achieved the recognition of the 'Armenian Genocide' by the parliaments of several countries.
Presidential elections were held in Armenia on Feb.18. Incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan won the presidential elections gaining 58.64 percent of the overall votes.
The First Foreign Minister of Armenia Raffi Hovannisian ranked second winning 36.75 percent, while former Prime Minister Hrant Bagratyan ranked third after receiving 2.15 percent of the vote.