AZERBAIJAN REFUSES TO FULFILL COMMITMENT TO CE

PanARMENIAN.Net - In the issue of passing a Law on Alternative Military Service official Baku has "a stand of principle," member of Azeri delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), deputy Gultekin Gajiyeva told Novosti Russian agency. It should be reminded that the passing of the law in question is one of the basic commitments of Azerbaijan to the Council of Europe (CE). In Gajiyeva's words, the CE demands to pass the law as soon as possible. "However, taking into account that we have the issue of liberation of seized Azeri territories and the military solution of the problem is not ruled out, the passing of the law can lead to problems in drafting people, who refuse to serve due to their religious beliefs," she explained. The deputy expressed hope for "the CE to take the Azerbaijan's stand with understanding." It should be noted that at the sitting of the PACE monitoring committee in Paris today the discussion of the fulfillment of commitments, undertaken by Azerbaijan when being accepted into the CE, began. The final version of the report on Azerbaijan's engagements will be discussed at the PACE winter session in Strasbourg January 26.