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PACE committee chairman: â€œAzerbaijan will become one of the most democratic countries in the near futureâ€

03 September 2011 11:48 (UTC +04:00)

Pourgourides shared his ideas about the meetings and monitoring he conducted during the visit. He said he visited Azerbaijan for the first time five yeas ago and now he saw completely different country. The guest repeated the idea he expressed during the meeting with President Ilham Aliyev: â€œA much work has been done in Azerbaijan in the field of democracy and there is much progress. Azerbaijan will become one of the most democratic countries in the near future and it makes us very happyâ€.

Appreciating the developing relations of Azerbaijan with the Council of Europe, Pourgourides said an important work has been done in the field of protection of human rights and freedoms. He also expressed his opinion about the ways of solution to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. â€œArmeniaâ€™s pressure on Azerbaijan, occupation of Nagorno Karabakh and seven nearby regions is against the norms and principles of both local and international laws. These lands must be immediately liberated and returned to Azerbaijan. Not only members of the Council of Europe, but all democratic countries must condemn Armenia and send messages demanding withdrawal of Armenian troops from the Azerbaijani territories. Peace and stability in the region can be ensured only by these meansâ€.

The guest thanked Elkhan Suleymanov, Azerbaijani MP and member of PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, for inviting him to Azerbaijan where he saw successful realities.