Interview with Peter Schieder, president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from 2002 to 2005.
Q: Azerbaijan is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its of state independence this year. What can you say about the achievements of the country over those years, for half of which Azerbaijan has been a member of the Council of Europe?
A: I myself have witnessed all the progress Azerbaijan has made over the years in cooperation with European institutions such as the Council of Europe and OSCE. I believe that this cooperation should be continued, and it will only bring positive results.
I should also note that Azerbaijan still faces some issues that must be addressed in the coming years. So, work is still ahead.
Q: Do you mean issues related to the democratic development of the republic?
A: Yes, in this area as well. There are some recommendations voiced by the Council of Europe. It is gratifying that Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe have a mutual understanding that there is a need to work on these issues. The main thing is that the situation in this area is developing in a positive way. The only thing I am quite dissatisfied with is the lack of progress in resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, but I do not think Azerbaijan is to blame for this.
Q: Does the Council of Europe or any other international institution have mechanisms to resolve this conflict?
A: Unfortunately, the Council of Europe lacks mechanisms to take concrete measures to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. However, any particular result in the resolution of the problem largely depends on the OSCE Minsk Group, Armenia itself and Russia.
Azerbaijan is interested in promoting the process towards integration with Europe. Along with this, the experience of other countries shows that subjective factors can interfere with this process. In particular, if we take the example of Turkey, it is obvious that this country is rejected by some EU members because of the Islamic factor.
Q: Can this factor interfere with the European integration of Muslim Azerbaijan?
A: True, there may be people who in the case of Turkey point to the Islamic factor, or who see problems in the scale of the country or some other aspects. But at the same time there are a lot of people who oppose this view thinking "Why would a Muslim country not be a member of the European family?"
I see no problems in this area and I am convinced that there is a prospect and a chance for Turkey but also for the South Caucasus countries in the future. I believe that the EU should take responsibility to implement a Black Sea cooperation program, similar to the Mediterranean program, which was implemented in recent years.
News.Az
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