Azeri foreign minister, Council of Europe officials discusses Karabakh
Trend news agency
16 Jun 05
Baku, 16 June: Different aspects of a negotiated settlement to the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict were discussed by Azerbaijani Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Council of Europe Secretary-General
Terry Davis in Strasbourg today, the Foreign Ministry press service
has told Trend.
The sides also discussed the situation in Azerbaijan in the run-up to
the November parliamentary elections, the establishment and activity
of the working group set up by the Azerbaijani authorities and NGOs
to deal with the problem of political prisoners, and the latest steps
taken in Azerbaijan in the area of democratization.
The meeting was held as part of the Azerbaijani minister’s visit to
Strasbourg on 15-16 June.
Mammadyarov also held negotiations with the secretary-general of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe [PACE], Bruno Haller,
and the director-general of the PACE secretariat, Mateo Sorinas.
The sides discussed the issues that have been included in the agenda
of the forthcoming summer session of PACE: reports on the work of
democratic institutions in Azerbaijan, the problem of political
prisoners and the work being done towards conducting the forthcoming
parliamentary elections in line with international standards.
The Azerbaijani minister also met members of the Ago group for Armenia
and Azerbaijan established under the Council of Europe Committee
of Ministers. Issues of a negotiated settlement to the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict, preparations for the parliamentary elections and
Azerbaijan’s progress in fulfilling its commitments to the Council
of Europe were discussed.