Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
July 8 2005
Azerbaijan to stay in EU focus until elections
Baku, July 7, AssA-Irada
Azerbaijan will stay in the European Union’s focus until the November
parliamentary elections, the EU special envoy on South Caucasus
Heikki Talvitie has said. He told a news conference on the results of
his visit to Baku on Thursday that during the visit, the pre-election
situation in the country, the EU New Neighborhood Policy and the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper Garabagh were discussed.
Talvitie has met with President Ilham Aliyev, officials and leaders
of political parties. He said that Azeri officials have unequivocally
stated that the make-up of elections commissions will not be changed.
The `only way out of this’ is to conduct exit polls, said Talvitie.
`We welcome ensuring the political parties’ right to freedom of
assembly. I also said in a meeting with the opposition that changes
should be accepted. This will give a start to the
authorities-opposition dialogue.’*