“Azerbaijan and Armenia have undertaken the same obligations for the settlement of the conflict. As concerns for Council of Europe’s work to solve the problem, to accept the membership the both states to the organization is priority,” Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis stated. Mr. Davis said that if Azerbaijan chooses military way for settling the conflict, it will be a violation of the commitments undertaken by the republic to the Council of Europe: “I am sure that Azerbaijan will fulfill the obligations otherwise it will face hardships,” he remarked.
Touching on the issue of secret jails Terry Davis voiced assurance there is no problem of the kind in Azerbaijan. “I do not have any information about that. I can tell you that like other countries I have asked Azerbaijan government to reply to the questionnaire of Council of Europe related to this matter. The Azerbaijani part is obliged to reply it, since it is within the obligations. I do not believe President Ilham Aliyev lets violation of these obligations.”
Terry Davis said that the absence of the CoE office in Azerbaijan is conditioned by the reorganization of the institute. “This will give a chance to effective work of our bureau in Baku. The decision has been made. I will appoint my representative in a short period of time. I will focus attention on two issues during the appointment. First of all, our representative office in Azerbaijan should be a model for our offices in other countries for its effectiveness. Secondly, as I take a liking to Azerbaijan, our office in the country should function efficiently. I attach much more attention to this country as the CoE office in Azerbaijan is vacant,” he said, reported APA news agency.
