Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry: Statement of Ashton and Fule - political pressure

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry expressed surprise with the  statement of European Commissioner Catherine Ashton and Štefan Füle , who called the official Baku  to cancel  the amendments to legislation restricting the activities of NGOs. In particular, Foreign Ministry spokesman, Elman Abdullayev, gave a comment in which he asserts that Azerbaijan has fulfilled its international obligations undertaken when joining the Council of Europe, including the recommendations of the Venice Commission.

Abdullayev argued that the amendments adopted by the Milli Mejlis "were widely discussed and civil society to support them." According to him, Azerbaijan's legislation in the field of NGOs and civil society complies with the legislation of the EU and  is even more "democratic" than in some EU countries.

Foreign Ministry spokesman  is upset that the European Union does not  see Azerbaijan's achievements in the field of security and support for civil society. For this reason, Abdullayev said that the  statement by  Ashton and Fule  is a manifestation of "bias and political pressure."

In the  above  mentioned statement, the EU called Ilham Aliyev  to cancel reactionary amendments  that are contrary to democracy and the country's obligations to international organizations. -02D-