Today, on 26^th January 2016, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a shameful decision in its plenary session:

Under the pressure of the Armenian side and pro-Armenian forces, the report on the “Escalation of tension in Nagorno Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan”, prepared by British MP Mr. Robert Walter and put to vote for approval in the plenary session after being adopted in Political Affairs Committee, was rejected.

Thus, the Parliamentary Assembly rejected fully the Resolution 1416 (2005) adopted by itself and its position as expressed in 2^nd paragraph of this resolution, which states: “… independence and secession of a regional territory from a state may only be achieved through a lawful and peaceful process based on the democratic support of the inhabitants of such territory and not in the wake of an armed conflict leading to ethnic expulsion and the de facto annexation of such territory to another state. The Assembly reiterates that the occupation of foreign territory by a member state constitutes a grave violation of that state’s obligations as a member of the Council of Europe and reaffirms the right of displaced persons from the area of conflict to return to their homes safely and with dignity”.

Rejecting the report on the “Escalation of tension in Nagorno Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan”, prepared by Mr. Walter and put to vote for approval in the plenary session after the adoption in Political Affairs Committee, under the pressure of Armenia and pro-Armenian forces, PACE adopted a biased decision, supporting the aggressor.

PACE clearly rejected the decisions and resolutions adopted both by itself and other international institutions, such as UN SC and General Assembly, European Parliament, and OSCE PA regarding the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia.

Adopting the above-mentioned decision, PACE definitely supported the aggressor Armenia and once again patronizing the aggressor state, proved that it serves to the interests of this state.

I regret that PACE rejected its decisions under the pressure of Armenia and pro-Armenian forces. I assess PACE’s biased position against our country, its support to the aggressor, and purposeful violation of the principles of equality of member states and rule of law envisaged in its Statute, as a collapse of democracy and principles of equality in PACE. By defending the occupational policy of aggressive Armenia, PACE turned into a puppet institution in the hands of aggressors.

Elkhan Suleymanov

Member of Azerbaijani delegation to PACE

Strasbourg, 26.01.2016