Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, head of Russia’s delegation to PACE Pyotr Tolstoy, speaking with the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, commented on the relations of Russian and Azerbaijani MPs, both in the Assembly and at the bilateral level.
"We have a good relationship, we have no problems with our Azerbaijani colleagues. I hope we will continue to develop our cooperation," he said.
Pyotr Tolstoy praised the work of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE. "This has been the case in Azerbaijan, and I think it will continue to be that way, that the MPs working in the Council of Europe are the best representatives of the Azerbaijani people, entrusted with this function by voters," the Russian MP stressed.
Speaking about the upcoming parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan, which will be observed, among others, by PACE, Pyotr Tolstoy suggested that European PMs will look for causes to criticize. "They have target countries. While there was no Russia in PACE, Azerbaijan has been criticized a lot, I think, they will continue to criticize it. But it's not a huge deal, because the reports are advisory in nature," he said.
Russia will observe the elections in Azerbaijan without bias, as always. "The main thing in the elections for us is the country's sovereignty and the will of voters," the PACE Vice Speaker concluded.
