Pedro Agramunt: Azerbaijan is at a turning point which will allow to improve relations with Europe and Council of Europe

Baku. 2 March. REPORT.AZ/ I believe Azerbaijan is at a turning point which will allow it to improve its relations with Europe and the Council of Europe,” said Pedro Agramunt, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), ending a two-day state visit to Azerbaijan.

PACE President noted that during the visit he met with the President, Speaker of Parliament and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.

'I was encouraged by the frank and open discussions with my high-level interlocutors about a number of rule of law and human rights issues, which I was able to raise after having had the benefit of input from a number of NGOs, journalists, lawyers and also ambassadors based in Baku. I was able to discuss openly with the highest authorities some of the problems faced by civil society. I was in a position to press for greater co-operation with the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission and use of its legal advice', he stated.

PACE President noted that during the visit, also discussed the implementation of decisions of the European Court of Human Rights.

'One of the issues high on the agenda in all my meetings was that of implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. In this respect I was assured that the Azeri authorities would co-operate with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in his Article 52 report on effective implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights, and that dates would be set to receive the Secretary General’s mandated representatives. This is a good starting point which I hope will quickly lead to further advances on this dossier', stated Pedro Agramunt.