Olympiad

Olympiad

Azerbaijan - secular republic which fights against radical Islam, French senator says

18 June 2015 10:17 (UTC +04:00)

According to her, some critics claim that "democratic values” are not recognized in Azerbaijan.

“Azerbaijan is a 24 year-old young country. Obviously, it is in an open war against Armenia and often suffers casualties. However, it is not spoken about,” the French senator said.

She said Azerbaijan is working with the Council of Europe to improve the democratic values.

“The election process has been improved. Of course, there are still problems. However, the non-constructive campaign against the country causes irritation. Well, all the European countries, including Israel, were represented in the OIC member state. Armenia also competed in the European Games due to the courageous step of the Azerbaijani government and the Armenian athletes”, Goulet mentioned.

According to the senator, on a geostrategic level, Azerbaijan is an ally of Europe.

“Azerbaijan is the only country which has real sovereignty in the South Caucasus. This country is an important trading partner for France in the field of oil, gas and agriculture. Azerbaijan is developing rapidly. Since 1921, women were given the right to vote in Azerbaijan. It is an absolutely secular republic. There is Jewish community, a Christian church in Azerbaijan, and there are no problems with Christians here. Though it is an OIC member state, it has diplomatic relations with Israel. There has not been any problem with anti-semitism. Azerbaijan fights against the radical Islam and is among the allies against the Islamic State” added Goulet.