Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

President Ilham Aliyev and President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Jean-Claude Mignon, who is paying an official visit to Azerbaijan, discussed cooperation issues during a meeting held on May 26.

The President hailed the Azerbaijan-PACE cooperation as successful and stressed the role of reciprocal visits and meetings in expanding bilateral relations.

President Aliyev expressed confidence that the PACE President's visit would open up good opportunities for discussing prospects of bilateral cooperation.

Jean-Claude Mignon said he was pleased to be visiting Azerbaijan for the second time, adding that he had witnessed rapid development in the country. He stressed the importance of Azerbaijan`s achievements, particularly the economic ones.

Mignon said one of the aims of the visit was to discuss preparations ahead of Azerbaijan's presidency at the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers.

During the PACE chief's visit to Azerbaijan, which ends on May 28, Mignon is also scheduled to hold meetings with Parliament Speaker Ogtay Asadov, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, as well as with the leaders of political parties represented in parliament.

The PACE President expressed an expectation that a solution to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict could be reached this year.

"In 2013, Azerbaijan and Armenia will chair the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, and it will create a good chance for both countries to find a solution to the conflict," Mignon told journalists in Baku on May 27.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the peace treaty between France and Germany, and such peace can be achieved between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Mignon said.

He said regular meetings are held between the Azerbaijani and Armenian delegations in PACE, and these meetings discuss ways of resolving the conflict.

Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims. Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. Russia, France and the U.S. - co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - have long been working to broker a solution of the conflict, but their efforts have been largely fruitless so far.

Furthermore, Mignon said Azerbaijan plays a strategic role in the region. According to him, the positive changes in Azerbaijan are obvious.

He noted that Azerbaijan has taken certain steps to address unemployment, which have yielded results. The poverty level in the country has fallen from 50 to 6 percent, which is a world-level indicator.

Mignon also said PACE puts forward some criteria for member countries, and Azerbaijan, as well as other member states, makes efforts to comply with them.

"The organization which I chair is assisting member countries in the fight against money laundering, as well as in the protection of human rights, and shares its experience, and Azerbaijan can benefit from this assistance and experience," Mignon said.

Mignon visited the Alley of Martyrs and Alley of Honor on May 27.

On May 27 he is also due to hold meetings at the Foreign Ministry and meet with representatives of NGOs.