Azerbaijan is considering full withdrawal from the Council of Europe, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said at the opening ceremony of the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum, entitled "The Mission of the Media in Promoting Peace: Restoring Truth and Rebuilding Trust." .
The head of state noted that there was once a different picture regarding the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe:
"I regret that such a situation has occurred. Back in 2001, when I was a member of the Azerbaijani Parliament, I led the delegation. I worked there for two years. Four sessions were held there per year. For me, this was an unpleasant experience. In 2023, we exercised our legitimate right and liberated our territories that remained in the hands of separatists. However, they adopted resolutions to punish Azerbaijan.
In January 2024, they questioned the accreditation of the Azerbaijani delegation and deprived it of the right to vote. This was not purely a human rights issue. If it had been about that, they would have done it earlier. This was simply a punishment against us, against our territorial integrity. The Azerbaijani delegation made a very wise decision. They refused to participate in the meetings. If we have no voting rights, why should we be there?"
President Ilham Aliyev recalled that, incidentally, Azerbaijan had also not voted for the judges of the European Court of Human Rights:
"Therefore, we do not recognize their decisions. We have not voted for the judges; for two years, we have been subjected to discrimination. I say openly that Azerbaijan is considering full withdrawal from the organization. Not just the suspension or freezing of our membership – we are unequivocally considering leaving that structure. The secretary general of the Council of Europe contacted me and asked us not to do this and to find a way to improve the situation.
In that parliament, very dubious ultimatum-like decisions are being voiced against Azerbaijan. This is also completely unacceptable. These are not our decisions because they have deprived us of voting rights. This has happened without any legitimate decisions. They must restore the voting rights of our delegation. After that, the Azerbaijani delegation will return. We have not taken any wrong steps. They have made an unjust decision. Therefore, they must step back and acknowledge their mistakes. On many occasions, I have expressed my concern."
"If Azerbaijan fully withdraws from the Council of Europe, no one will feel it. That is, not much will change here. Perhaps things will be even better. We do not want to go into confrontation. They treat Azerbaijan with bias; their claims are groundless. This is not our choice. We voluntarily joined the organization in 2001. At that time, many things were different. We joined with great desire and hope that they would help us with our main wish – resolving the Garabagh conflict," the head of state added.
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