Is "Musavat" Receiving Instructions from Europe?

Pro-government media have made accusations against Peter Michalko, the representative of the EU delegation in Baku, and several diplomatic corps. The EU official is accused of giving instructions and orders to the opposition.

It is reported that on August 12, Peter Michalko met with the head of the Musavat Party, Isa Gambar, the chairman of the party's Majlis (Assembly), Arif Hajili, and the chairman of the Popular Front of Azerbaijan Party, Ali Kerimli, and urged them to take more active measures to escalate the political situation in the country.

The article states that Michalko condemned the opposition's current inaction and conveyed the serious dissatisfaction of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, with the situation. According to the article, Michalko even set his conditions for continued funding of the opposition. It was also claimed that the ambassadors of France and the Netherlands were particularly active at the meeting and demanded stronger measures to revitalize the opposition.

The EU delegation in Azerbaijan denied these claims: "These statements about the format and content of these meetings are completely false and do not correspond to reality."

Arif Hajili, chairman of the Musavat Party Majlis, stated that they would file a lawsuit against the media that published the article.

Isa Gambar, head of the Musavat Party, addressed these events in the program "Complex Question." According to him, all of this is a complete lie and an insult to the party founded by Mammad Amin Rasulzade, which played a crucial role in the creation of the Azerbaijani Republic.

"The Musavat Party has been working for over 100 years in the name of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani state, and the Azerbaijani citizen. Throughout its history, there has not been a single case of it being controlled in any form from abroad or receiving instructions from foreign sources," Gambar said, adding that Musavat is a party of ideas, a mission, a party of hundreds of thousands of people ready for self-sacrifice for Azerbaijan.

Regarding the meeting with Peter Michalko on August 12, Gambar said that he and Arif Hajili participated. The discussion focused on the upcoming Milli Majlis (National Assembly) elections in Azerbaijan. Representatives of the EU and diplomatic missions at the meeting asked questions related to the elections, the pre-election tactics and strategy of the Musavat Party, and the difficulties and challenges they were facing. All these questions were answered. However, there were no orders or instructions given, nor could there have been any, Gambar emphasized.

"If the online resource that spread this lie does not publish a retraction, we will have no choice but to take legal action," he promised.