A large group of PACE members are banned from entering Azerbaijan
The members of parliament who voted against the Azerbaijani delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have been declared persona non grata in Azerbaijan. Until the mandate of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE is restored, they will not be allowed to enter the territory of Azerbaijan.
This was stated by the head of the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Ayhan Hajizade, commenting on the statements of PACE member, member of the German parliament Frank Schwabe in an interview with Radio Liberty.
Schwabe said that Azerbaijan is not interested in membership in the Council of Europe, since the country “does not respect the values” of this organization. He also pointed out that Azerbaijan again did not invite PACE observers to the elections to the Milli Majlis,.
At the same time, Schwabe expressed his intention to come to Azerbaijan for COP29.
Hajizade called Schwabe’s statements “biased” and “false”.
“Frank Schwabe is well aware that the only reason why PACE representatives were not invited to observe the elections to the Milli Majlis is that the mandate of the Azerbaijani delegation has not yet been restored. And this is despite the promises made to our country at the political level, including by German officials,” Hajizade emphasized.
As for Schwabe’s desire to visit Azerbaijan within the framework of COP29, according to Hajizade, those who voted against the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE were included in the list of personae non gratae. “Until the mandate of our delegation to PACE is restored, these persons will not be allowed to enter the territory of Azerbaijan,” Hajizade emphasized.
On January 24, PACE did not approve the credentials of the Azerbaijani delegation for a period of 1 year due to the “failure of the country to fulfill its basic obligations” to the Council of Europe, as well as the failure to invite the assembly’s observers to the early presidential elections.
76 voted for this decision deputies, with 10 “against” and 4 “abstaining”.