SAMAD SEYIDOV: AZERBAIJAN DOES NOT OBJECT TO ANY INTERNATIONAL MISSION’S VISIT TO OUR COUNTRY

Azeri Press Agency
Jan 9 2008
Azerbaijan

There is no need for Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE)
appointing special rapporteur on political prisoners in Azerbaijan.

Working Group functions in Azerbaijan efficiently and appointment
of the rapporteur will not be in the favor of the situation, head
of Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation to PACE Samad Seyidov told
the APA.

He said that he does not believe that taking such step will cause
constructive achievement in this direction.

"I do not believe that there will be constructive achievement with
such step. I regard that the pardon decree signed by the head of the
state is very large, thorough, humanist step. Most of the imprisoned
journalists were released under pardon decree. This decree will have
very positive, great influence. All international organizations,
as well as Council of Europe expressed its position to this pardon
decree," he said.

Samad Seyidov responding to the question "Who Azerbaijani delegation
wants to see in the post of PACE President?" stated that discussions
on this direction continue.

"CE has not yet defined who will participate in the elections. Any
country’s making decision on it would not be better, as CE has not
yet made a decision on it," he said.

Samad Seyidov commenting on the change of the format of mission on
the protection of cultural-historical monuments in South Caucasus
noted that Azerbaijani side does not object to any international
mission’s visit to our country.

"Visit to any country, as well as visit of this mission should be
carried out in the framework of adopted international rules. There
are principles of the organization of the visit, and one of them is
that those who want to visit Nagorno Karabakh-the area which is out
of the control of our country should pass there from the area which
is under control of Azerbaijan. We do not accept the other variants.

We do not create any problem," he said.