Azernews.Az

Germany`s ambassador to Azerbaijan took the wrong position by intervening in the debate between the media of the two countries, deputy chairman of the ruling Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party Ali Ahmadov has said.

Ahmadov told journalists that recently some German media outlets have openly taken an anti-Azerbaijani position and distorted the developments ongoing in the country.

``Some media outlets in Azerbaijan have responded to these attacks,`` he said. ``In this regard, I think that there was no need for the German ambassador to interfere with the debate between the media of the two countries. It is inappropriate and unacceptable. Unfortunately, the German diplomat supported the biased position of his country`s media. He thus ended up in the midst of this process, therefore, he has no right to be offended by an assessment of his actions.``

Last week, the German embassy in Azerbaijan issued a strongly worded statement claiming that Yeni Azerbaijan newspaper, the media outlet of the Yeni Azerbaijan Party (YAP), is causing ``a dangerous environment of mistrust`` by leveling accusations against German political foundations. The Azerbaijani embassy in Germany responded by saying that the diplomatic mission`s response was ``surprising``. The embassy also said German human rights commissioner Markus Loning, German CoE parliamentary assembly representative Christoph Strasser and some Bundestag members are involved in an anti-Azerbaijan campaign pursued by some circles in Germany.

Azerbaijani Parliament Vice-Speaker Bahar Muradova has said the Armenian lobby facilitates the circulation of anti-Azerbaijani reports in the German media and labeled them as an attempt to damage Azerbaijan-Germany relations.

``Unfortunately, articles whose authors do not wish to notice Azerbaijan`s achievements have been published in Germany and in general in the Western press in recent years,`` Muradova told journalists. ``These articles are published with the help of circles opposed to Azerbaijan, namely, the Armenian lobby and the community that serves its interests.``

Muradova noted, however, that such reports reflect neither the official position of Germany nor German public opinion as a whole.

She added, ``I believe that such publications will soon come to naught, since neither Azerbaijan nor Germany are interested in embellishing this issue.``

Embassy refutes allegations
The German embassy in Baku has dismissed allegations that the country`s ambassador had made remarks contradicting an international convention in a recent meeting of foreign diplomats with Azerbaijani opposition leaders.

``The embassy refutes the allegations about remarks by Ambassador Herbert Quelle at the meeting of the Public Chamber [an Azerbaijani umbrella opposition group] with the diplomatic corps on April 24,`` it said in a statement, issued in response to the April 27 article in Yeni Azerbaijan newspaper, ``Diplomatic mission: opposition, be ready for Eurovision Song Contest``.

The embassy said Ambassador Quelle did not take the floor at that meeting, therefore, ``all conclusions drawn from his alleged remarks`` concerning a contravention of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations are ``baseless and untenable``.

``The embassy furthermore refutes the allegation contained in said article of a campaign against Azerbaijan directed by the German Federal Government,`` the statement said.

French Ambassador Gabriel Keller voiced support for the German envoy, saying he was ``disgusted`` with what he called an insidious campaign pursued against the diplomat.

``I am shocked by some official reactions to the meetings between the opposition and foreign diplomats,`` Keller told the local news agency Turan. ``In democracies, such meetings are usual and absolutely normal. Azerbaijani diplomats are not accused of destabilization attempts over their meetings with the opposition in democratic countries.``