Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Aug 23 2005
PACE President Cites `Favorable Conditions’ for Conflict Settlement
Favorable conditions have been created to settle the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh, president of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Rene van Der
Linden has said.
`We should take advantage of this and find a way to resolve the
conflict,’ the PACE president, who arrived in Baku on Monday as part
of his tour of the South Caucasus region, told journalists upon
arrival. The visit is aimed at getting familiar with the situation in
the region.
Linden said he held broad discussions on the Karabakh conflict during
his visit to Armenia.
The PACE president said that Azerbaijan’s November parliament
elections will be discussed. Asked whether the Council of Europe will
reconsider the mandate of the Azerbaijani delegation if it is not
satisfied with the results of the forthcoming poll, Linden said he
will reply to the question in conclusion of his visit.
Linden met with President Ilham Aliyev, Chief-of-Staff of the
President’s Office Ramiz Mehdiyev, representatives of the Azadlig and
New Policy election blocs as well as media and NGO representatives on
the same day. On Tuesday, he is to meet Parliament Speaker Murtuz
Alasgarov and Interior Minister Ramil Usubov.