AzerTag, Azerbaijan
March 15 2005
AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT ILHAM ALIYEV RECEIVES MEMBER OF PACE COMMITTEE
ON LEGAL AFFAIRS AND HUMAN RIGHTS MALCOLM BRUCE
[March 15, 2005, 21:14:35]
President of the republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received at the
Presidential Palace member of PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and
Human Rights Malcolm Bruce, March 15.
Noting that Azerbaijan’s cooperation with the Council of Europe
continues to develop successfully, the Head of State described the
recent debates over the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
at Parliamentary Assembly as very positive step forward. The
President expressed confidence that the documents adopted as a result
would play an important role in the problem’s resolution. He
stressed, however, the importance of more active involvement – along
with the OSCE Minsk Group – of other international organizations
including the Council of Europe in the peace process. The Azerbaijani
leader noted that Azerbaijan honors in full measure its commitments
and obligations to the Council of Europe that, according to him,
fosters democratization process in the country and its closer
integration into the European structures.
Member of PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights Mr.
Malcolm Bruce, for his part, described the final report on the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as objective, noting that President Ilham
Aliyev’s speech at the Parliamentary Assembly had played an important
role for adoption of the document. Honoring by Azerbaijan of its
commitments and obligations to the Councils of Europe, as well as the
country’s stance with respect to resolution of the conflict,
according to him, were highly appreciated by the European
parliamentarians.
Mr. Bruce also highly valued the devotion of the Azerbaijani people
to the principles of tolerance. He especially emphasized that
cooperation between the Council of Europe and Azerbaijan is very
useful for both the Organization and the country.
Issues related to political prisoners were also discussed during the
meeting.