Baku blasts PACE president over “unacceptable” anti-Azerbaijani remarks, calls allegations politically ignorant

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has issued a sharply worded statement in response to recent remarks made by Theodoros Rousopoulos, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), calling his statements “unacceptable” and “a demonstration of political ignorance.”

In a commentary delivered by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada, Baku lashed out at Rousopoulos following his interview with Alpha News, in which the PACE President made critical remarks about Azerbaijan and its leadership, Caliber.Az reports.

“We strongly reject and condemn the allegations made against Azerbaijan by Theodoros Rousopoulos, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), during an interview with Alpha News,” Hajizada stated.

Hajizada further accused PACE leadership, including Rousopoulos and Frank Schwabe, of consistently undermining Azerbaijan’s legitimate positions within the Council of Europe framework. “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,” the statement said.

The Foreign Ministry emphasized that the Azerbaijani public’s discontent with PACE has been building for years, citing a pattern of perceived double standards. “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.”

Referring directly to comments made by Rousopoulos about Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Hajizada said, “Labeling our nation's leader a 'dictator' and insulting him is utterly unacceptable, is a demonstration of political ignorance and is a dumbness. The current hysterical situation in the Assembly and the dictator Rousopoulos at its leadership are a manifestation of the deplorable situation in PACE. The same situation exists in the European Parliament.”

Addressing the issue of Azerbaijan's stance on rulings by the European Court of Human Rights, Hajizada called the expectations placed on Azerbaijan “absurd.” He asserted: “Regarding our position on the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, 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.”

The statement also included a stern warning to Rousopoulos regarding his future access to Azerbaijani territory. “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.”

By Vafa Guliyeva