19:27,

YEREVAN, MAY 21, ARMENPRESS. Caretaker Foreign Minister of Armenia Ara Ayvazian gave a speech at the 131st session of the CoE Committee of Ministers, during which he referred to the necessity of adequate international reaction to the behavior of Azerbaijan.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia, Ayvazian said in his speech, ''This year was remarkable in terms of the 20th anniversary of Armenia's membership to the Council of Europe. During these years the CoE contributed and continues to contribute to the strengthening of democracy in Armenia. We are committed to the ideologies and values of the Council of Europe.

But, on the other hand, in the broader context of European democratic security, we are witnessing the decline of those values and the moral defeat.

Last year Azerbaijan unleashed a bloody war against the people of Artsakh. The war was accompanied by massive violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. Those violations have been properly documented not only in Armenian but also in international sources, by organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Freedom House. The European Court of Human Rights has taken interim measures against Azerbaijan regarding hundreds of captives, whose captivity was confirmed by that country, demanding information about them, which, however, was not received. The Court even informed the Committee of Ministers in a public notice that Azerbaijan does not cooperate.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe also expressed deep concern  during the last plenary session. By refusing to return POWs, Azerbaijan continues to violate international humanitarian law and human rights''.

Highlighting the role of the CoE in addressing numerous humanitarian, cultural and religious issues in Artsakh, Ara Ayvazian said, ''So far, the Committee of Ministers has not adequately responded to the  blatant violations of statutory and conventional obligations by Azerbaijan.

The lack of a tough response to the massive and gross human rights violations in Nagorno-Karabakh encouraged Azerbaijan to pursue the same policy toward the Republic of Armenia in an attempt to occupy border areas and deprive the local population of its livelihood.

Mr. Chairman, the Council of Europe was established to build greater unity among its member states. In this regard, the Council of Europe has managed to unite almost all of Europe under one roof, to develop legal standards that guide cooperation between member states in various fields. However, there is a deep chasm between some Member States. And as long as perpetrators of atrocities are allowed to be on an equal footing with those who continue to believe in the values of democracy and human rights, that chasm will only deepen. If we do not give new impetus to our efforts to ensure democratic security throughout Europe, our most important goal of greater unity in Europe will remain an illusion, especially for those living in conflict zones''.