Azerbaijan to blacklist PACE president

Baku strongly reject and condemn the allegations made against Azerbaijan by President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Theodoros Rousopoulos during an interview with Alpha News, spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Aykhan Hajizada said.

"It is well-known that, despite Azerbaijan’s demonstrated willingness to engage in dialogue even after actions taken against it due to PACE’s violation of the Council of Europe’s Charter and overreach of authority, Rousopoulos, Schwabe, and others have consistently attempted to undermine Azerbaijan’s just and international law-based position," he noted.

The spokesperson recalled that over the years, PACE has incurred the justified resentment of the Azerbaijani people due to its anti-Azerbaijani policies, which are marked by double standards.

"Labeling our nation's leader a "dictator" and insulting him is utterly unacceptable, is a demonstration of political ignorance and is a dumbness," the spokesperson said.

The current hysterical situation in the Assembly is a manifestation of the deplorable situation in PACE, the same situation exists in the European Parliament.

Speaking on Baku's position on the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, Hajizada said it is absurd to demand from Azerbaijan to implement the decisions of the court, given that Azerbaijan did not participate in the selection of its judges. Under these circumstances, it is impossible to enforce the court's decisions.

"It should be noted that Theodoros Rousopoulos is blacklisted in Azerbaijan like 76 PACE members who supported the unfair and legally questionable initiative to suspend the credentials of Azerbaijani delegation to PACE. If Rousopoulos penetrates into Azerbaijan, he will be rejected," the statement reads.