Azerbaijan, Baku, /corr. Trend / I.Alizade / Gultakin Hajiyeva, deputy head of the Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), reported on April 17 that the discussion of Azerbaijan's fulfillment of its CE obligations were more constructive and successful and beyond all expectations.
She noted that the reports by PACE co-rapporteurs, Andreas Herkel and Tony Lloyd, did not contain any milestones which were of concern "We became familiar with the report and proposed to inject some changes and they were adopted,' MP Hajiyeva stressed.
She noted that the session mainly focused on democratization. "The CE supported the policy, implemented by the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and stated that Azerbaijan's policy meets the European standards," she added.
Commenting on the criticisms about Azerbaijan, which were expressed at the session, along with its achievements, Hajoyeva regarded them as normal. Azerbaijan is a country under monitoring and such countries are always imposed to criticisms. At the same time she refuted the reports of serious criticism of Azerbaijan.
"The CE treats the forthcoming 2008 presidential elections in Azerbaijan with great hope. They expect these elections to be more democratic and transparent," MP stressed.
The PACE spring session, which began its work in Strasbourg on 16 April, discussed Azerbaijan's fulfillment of its CE obligations. As a result, a resolution has been adopted with respect to Azerbaijan. Ninety-nine MPs supported the document, 1 was against and 4 abstained.
MPs Samad Seyidov, Gultakin Hajiyeva, Sabir Hajiyev, Ganira Pashayeva, Ali Huseynov and Rafael Huseynov represent Azerbaijan in the gathering which will end on 20 April.