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Date of Council of Europe Standing Committee meeting in Baku announced

Politics Materials 23 December 2013 20:34 (UTC +04:00)
Azerbaijan builds its cooperation with the Council of Europe at the highest level,
Date of Council of Europe Standing Committee meeting in Baku announced

Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 23

By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:

Azerbaijan builds its cooperation with the Council of Europe at the highest level, head of Azerbaijani delegation to Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Azerbaijani MP Samad Seyidov told journalists on Dec. 23.

Azerbaijan's relations with the PACE and the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe are on the normal level, which satisfies both sides, Seyidov said.

He said that Azerbaijan will host a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Council of Europe in late May, 2014, and in June, 2014 the committee's chairmanship will pass to Azerbaijan. Currently Austria chairs the committee.

Seyidov also noted that there are different priorities within the future presidency of Azerbaijan. These priorities are formed on the basis of the values ​​of both Azerbaijan and Europe, Seyidov added.

He also said that the Nagorno-Karabakh issue has always been on the agenda of the Council of Europe.

Seyidov went on to add that he has been representing the interests of Azerbaijan at the Council of Europe from the first day of the country's accession to this organization, and at all meetings and sessions Azerbaijan has raised the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

"We will keep this issue on the agenda, as long as it remains unsolved at the international level," he said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven 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 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.

Translated by E.A.

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