The anti-Azerbaijani views expressed by Gabrielius Landsbergis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania, during the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on 2 October, are completely groundless and unacceptable.

We would like to remind the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, who refers to the stalemate in cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe and calls for a dialogue to resolve open issues with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, that it was not Azerbaijan who halted the dialogue and refused to do so, but rather 76 members of Parliament who supported unjust and legally questionable initiative to suspend the mandate of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE. Even following the mentioned step that occurred as a result of the violation of the Council of Europe Charter and the abuse of powers by PACE, the Azerbaijani side has demonstrated its openness to dialogue through various channels and its sincere interest in resolving the situation. It seems that the Lithuanian side, which holds the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, altogether is not worried about the deprivation of Azerbaijan’s rights at PACE.

Detrimental attitudes towards Azerbaijan within the PACE in recent years, especially after the liberation of our territories from Armenian occupation, are an attempt aimed at overshadowing the position of our country based on international law and justice. Representation in PACE is Azerbaijan’s right, and it is necessary to ensure this right without any precondition.

As for the opinions regarding the ban on the entry of the members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to Azerbaijan for voting on the issue of the mandate of the Azerbaijani delegation, we would like to note that this decision was made within the framework of our sovereign right based on the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and this measure is in line with the existing practices of many countries, including the member states of the Council of Europe. We have neither intention nor obligation to see in Azerbaijan the members of the Parliament, who do not want to see Azerbaijani representatives in PACE.

We strongly condemn Minister Landsbergis’ baseless allegations on human rights in Azerbaijan using the rostrum of PACE. All the fundamental rights and freedoms are fully respected in Azerbaijan in line with the national legislation and the European Convention on Human Rights. It is absolutely wrong to portray the ongoing investigations initiated on the basis of sound evidence and conducted in accordance with the requirements of the law as “sanctions to limit freedom of expression.”

Somehow the Lithuanian Minister does not talk about the rights of more than 300,000 Azerbaijanis who were expelled from the territory of Armenia, while referring to the importance of respect for the rights of return of Armenians who voluntarily moved to Armenia from the Garabagh region of Azerbaijan, and that their rights are protected within the framework of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Instead of taking such a biased position, it would be better for the Lithuanian Minister to focus on his own activities, and call on PACE to take necessary steps to restore dialogue and cooperation with Azerbaijan.