The authorities do not have alternatives to keep good relations with international organizations.

-Rasul Bey, let's start with the fact that the 25 members of the PACE have called for the consideration of human rights violations in Azerbaijan. Do you think such calls are effective?

From a political point of view, these appeals can be considered an interesting step, because it is an indicator. During the session, although there were no issues related to Azerbaijan, PACE deputies are informed about the processes taking place in the country and understand what steps need to be taken. This gives rise to the hope that issues related to human rights in Azerbaijan will be put on the PACE agenda in the future, and they will be given an adequate assessment and reaction. From a legal point of view, there is no influence force.

- This time you also took part in the PACE session. As far as we know, this time there were no serious discussions and investigations of the Laundromat, exposing corruption in PSE. Do you think PACE doesn"t take this issue seriously more or do some processes continue on this topic?

- Most of the investigation into allegations of corruption can be considered completed at the PACE level. Because PACE in past sessions in the report on corruption charges made numerous decisions at the level of the relevant committees on sanctions for the named members. Major changes were made to the Code of Ethics, and as a result, control was strengthened. The main difficulty is that PACE is not an investigative body, and therefore does not have the authority to prosecute. This issue should be investigated by the law enforcement authorities of the PACE member countries. In this regard, PACE has already made its appeal.

- Discussions on what issues related to Azerbaijan took place at this session, what events were held?

- During the session, there was no specific discussion of the situation with human rights in Azerbaijan. During his session after his speech, the Secretary General of the organization Yangland answered the questions of some deputies, making a general statement regarding the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. On the first day of the session, a group of human rights defenders held an event on the situation of human rights in Azerbaijan, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, during which the problem of political prisoners in Azerbaijan was discussed, on the situation with political rights and freedoms.

-By the way, the first dialogue between Azerbaijan and the EU on security issues will be held on October 29-30. Recently, probably, you also feel political activity between Azerbaijan and the West, manifested in visits, negotiations and meetings. What is this process intended for and how will it end? Can we expect from this activity some kind of impact on the situation with human rights and democracy, or some kind of advancement in the Eastern Partnership?

- In general, this process indicates that the Azerbaijani authorities have no other alternative, how to maintain good relations with international organizations, the world community, whether it is a settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, or in the context of other security issues, serious resistance towards democratic development and the protection of human rights. I believe that this negotiation process should contribute to this area, otherwise there will be no agreement on the signing of the planned documents. At present, it is clear that the process will end with the planned signing a document on bilateral strategic partnership between the EU and Azerbaijan. But the main thing is that the process has progressed, there have been serious calls for Azerbaijan to comply with its obligations in the field of human rights.

-International human rights organization Amnesty International called on US security adviser John Bolton before his visit to Azerbaijan to demand that the country's authorities put an end to human rights violations. Do you think Bolton will touch this question on this trip, or are other issues a priority for the diplomat?

- In general, this process indicates that the Azerbaijani authorities have no other alternative, how to maintain good relations with international organizations, the world community, whether it is a settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, or in the context of other security issues, serious resistance towards democratic development and the protection of human rights. I believe that this negotiation process should contribute to this area, otherwise there will be no agreement on the signing of the planned documents. At present, it is clear that the process will end with the planned signing of a document on bilateral strategic partnership between the EU and Azerbaijan. But the main thing is that the process has progressed, there have been serious calls for Azerbaijan to comply with its obligations in the field of human rights.

-International human rights organization Amnesty International called on US security adviser John Bolton before his visit to Azerbaijan to demand that the country's authorities put an end to human rights violations. Do you think Bolton will touch this question on this trip, or are there other issues a priority for the diplomat?

-During his visit, Bolton will discuss security issues - Iran, Nagorno-Karabakh, and this is undoubted. The fact is that in the modern world the presence of good governance, the creation and operation of democratic institutions, the presence of a strong civil society is of considerable importance for the security of the state than military and diplomatic tools. From this point of view, the appeal of the organization Amnesty İnternational, I think, was the way. I hope that some result will be.

- In general, should we expect any steps in the field of human rights and democracy from the authoritative circles of the West? Or do they try, first of all, to promote their interests and benefits? Is it possible that the topic of human rights is a subject of speculation for them to put pressure on the authorities?

- Here, first of all, it is necessary to answer the question. Do Western countries need to exert pressure on Azerbaijan? I say with absolute certainty that there is no such need. The field of oil and gas is fully developed by Western companies. Up to 50 percent of foreign trade is accounted for by the EU countries, Azerbaijan participates in NATO operations and provides logistical support. That is, with such realities, the search for reasons by Western countries to put pressure on Azerbaijan is just a myth, which was invented in order to hush up human rights violations. The problem is that some Western politicians and deputies of European countries represented in international organizations worked to ensure that this myth had a place to be. They acted in favor of concealing the facts of human rights violations. I am sure that those still remain. From this point of view, it should be clear to everyone that international organizations and the various countries that are members of these organizations raise or should raise the issue of human rights due to their obligations. Human rights should not be subject to speculation or any kind of closed negotiations.