Council of Europe upbeat on coming Azeri polls – TV
ANS TV, Baku
29 Jun 05
[Presenter in studio] The people of Azerbaijan will elect their
representatives to parliament during the November elections, Council
of Europe Secretary-General Terry Davis has said and added that these
elections will be more democratic than before.
[Correspondent over archive footage] The next parliamentary elections
will put democracy in Azerbaijan to the test, Council of Europe
Secretary-General Terry Davis has said in an exclusive interview with
ANS. He also expressed confidence that these elections would be more
democratic than the ones before.
[Terry Davis shown talking to camera with Azeri voice-over] We
hope the people of Azerbaijan will elect their representatives
to parliament. They will do this fairly and without any outside
interference. I would not like to comment on the activities of any
political parties. I do not support any party in Azerbaijan. We want
the Azerbaijani people to elect their members of parliament by fully
exercising their universal franchise. Personally I am convinced that
these elections will be better than the ones before.
[Correspondent] Terry Davis said the Council of Europe is interested
in conducting democratic elections in Azerbaijan and stands ready to
provide any assistance necessary to that end. The organization intends
to provide similar assistance in resolving the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. And the resolution adopted by
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe [PACE] pertaining
to the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict has laid foundations for that.
[Davis] The Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents have to find the
political will to achieve a breakthrough in this issue. I certainly
welcome the negotiations between the presidents. Their meetings
show that both sides are interested in resolving the conflict. It is
regrettable that there have been instances of cease-fire violation
on the front-line of late.
But on the other hand, I cannot defend the position of either of
the sides. I am only urging both of them to exercise restraint and
observe the cease-fire. I am sure that the meetings between the two
presidents will produce results and there will be no resumption of
hostilities in the foreseeable future. The position of the Council
of Europe on the conflict remains unchanged. We stand only for a
negotiated solution to the conflict.
[Correspondent] Terry Davis also noted that he would visit Azerbaijan
soon. He expressed the hope that the visit would take place in the
run-up to the parliamentary elections.
Ayaz Mirzayev, ANS.