Such a reputable structure as the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) should avoid adopting any documents containing biased formulations of Azerbaijani propaganda machine.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR; Artsakh), Karen Mirzoyan, told the aforesaid to Karabakh-Open.info.
In response to the query on whether there are any developments regarding the fact that last year, the PACE adopted resolutions on preparing two reports related to the NKR and entitled “Escalation of Violence in Nagorno Karabakh and the Other Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan” and “The Inhabitants of Frontier Regions of Azerbaijan are Deliberately Deprived of Water,” and whether the PACE rapporteurs are expected to visit Artsakh, Mirzoyan responded: “On the subject of the Rapporteurs’ visit to Artsakh, according to the accepted procedure, the NKR authorities should be contacted directly with such a request. To date, all the visits of different international missions to Artsakh have taken place with the consent and support of the NKR authorities. The NKR authorities will make a decision on the Rapporteurs' visit after a corresponding application is submitted and the visit is considered expedient. Since we haven’t received any applications it is too early to discuss the probability of the visit.
“At the same time, I should note that both the titles of the reports and the statements of the MPs preparing them, raise doubts about their impartiality. We are convinced that such a reputable structure as the PACE should avoid adopting any documents containing biased formulations of Azerbaijani propaganda machine. Such documents, if adopted will not only become purely a matter of speculations by Azerbaijan, but can also cause serious damage to the negotiation process. We hope that the PACE will display political maturity not to allow for its platform to be used as a propaganda tribune for Azerbaijan.”
The NKR FM also stated: “Azerbaijan traditionally tries to use international platforms provided by international organizations, including the PACE, for its propaganda and disinformation. Meanwhile, the Council of Europe is a leading pan-European structure on the protection of human rights, the principles of legal state and the rule of law, which cannot overlook the deplorable democracy and human rights situation in Azerbaijan. Instead of accusing the Council of Europe of using double standards, Azerbaijan should rather fulfill its commitments on strengthening the rule of law, democracy and human rights in the country. It will not only serve the interests of the people of Azerbaijan, but is also one of the most important conditions for establishing peace and stability in the region.”
