2024-02-09 13:42:27
At a time when the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) took the unprecedented step of temporarily suspending the powers of the Azerbaijani delegation, experts and politicians in Azerbaijan are weighing the potential consequences of this decision.
Anar Mammadli, the chairman of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Education Center, said that he thinks that Azerbaijan actually cut ties with PACE long before the recently adopted decision. Mammadli is unable to fulfill the PACE resolutions of the country, release political prisoners and create favorable conditions for media, civil society and political parties. He believes that the PACE sanctions are delayed and called Baku’s refusal to allow PACE observers to inspect the Lachin corridor and visit Karabakh as a critical mistake. Mammadli argued that Azerbaijan could have allowed PACE observers to visit political prisoners and should not have resisted sending observers to the upcoming presidential elections.
Musavat Party Chairman Arif Hajili drew attention to Azerbaijan’s changing relations with the civilized world and warned of possible serious consequences. He warned against starting a campaign condemning PACE in the press, saying that fundamental changes in domestic and foreign policy are needed to prevent negative consequences.
Ali Karimli, chairman of the Azerbaijan People’s Front Party, expressed his concern on Facebook, noting that as we move away from Europe, Armenia’s friends will increase. Karimli listed the potential consequences of the anti-European policy, predicted that the economic situation would deteriorate, Azerbaijan would become a country like North Korea, foreign loans and financial aid would be limited, visa restrictions would be imposed for Azerbaijani citizens going to Europe, and repressions would continue within the country.
These opinions of Azerbaijani experts and political scientists show the complexity of the situation and its potential multifaceted impact on the country’s diplomatic, economic and internal spheres.
Turan