Azerbaijan, Baku /corr. Trend S.Ilhamgizi / On 9 July the Chairman of Azerbaijan Democratic Reforms Party (DRP), Asim Mollazade, met with the Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Rene van der Linden, who is on visit to Azerbaijan.
The meeting focused on the implementation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, reforms in the electoral system of Azerbaijan, the press situation and co-operation between PACE and GUAM. During the meeting, Mollazade highly assessed PACE's position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In addition, he highlighted the importance of adopting a law on Defamation in Azerbaijan, conducting reforms in the electoral legislation, releasing election commissions from the monopoly of one party. Furthermore, Mollazade mentioned the significance of establishing relations between the Council of Europe and GUAM at the level of relations between the Council of Europe and CIS.
In turn, Rene van der Linden expressed his satisfaction with the questions raised by Asim Mollazade. He pointed out that he supports the peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict on the basis of international law. In addition, Rene van der Linden highlighted his interest in expanding relations between PACE and Azerbaijan. The PACE Chairman mentioned the importance of conducting reforms in the electoral legislation of Azerbaijan and continuing co-operation with the Venice Commission on this issue. He commented on the readiness for co-operation of PACE with GUAM.