BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 25. Azerbaijan is looking into the steps for leaving the Council of Europe, an informed source told Trend.
This came as a response to the decision of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) not to ratify the credentials of the Azerbaijani delegation.
According to the source, Baku may also choose to refuse to recognize the jurisdiction of the ECHR.
Meanwhile, following PACE's provocative move, the Azerbaijani delegation made a statement during the organization's session.
"We see the initiative to challenge the credentials of the delegation of Azerbaijan to the PACE as a part of this vicious campaign. We also consider this initiative a deliberate and unacceptable attempt to unduly interfere with the ongoing electoral process in Azerbaijan and a vivid example of insidious actions to undermine the functioning of democratic institutions in our country. The proposed refusal to ratify the credentials of our delegation will be a serious blow to the credibility and impartiality of the Council of Europe as a whole, and the responsibility for its grave and irreversible consequences will entirely lie with its initiators.
Nobody in the world, including those sitting in this hall, can speak with Azerbaijan in the language of threats and blackmailing. Never before in the history of the PACE has this organization behaved in such a disgraceful manner.
In the face of the current unbearable atmosphere of racism, Azerbaijanophobia, and Islamophobia in the PACE, the delegation of Azerbaijan decides to cease its engagement with and presence at the PACE until further notice," the statement reads.