Baku / 18.09.17 / Turan: Belgian senator Alan Desteks resigned from membership in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) due to the fact that his name is mentioned in the international journalistic network OCCRP, which referred to the withdrawal from Azerbaijan 2.9 billion dollars for the purpose of money laundering in 2012, 2014. According to Western media reports, Desteks received funding from Azerbaijan for his non-profit association in Belgium. At the same time, Desteks was the PACE rapporteur on the situation in Azerbaijan in the field of human rights. His activities aroused criticism of local and international human rights defenders for alleviating problems with human rights and freedom of expression. His report was to be submitted to the October session of the PACE. However, on Saturday, Desteks resigned, complaining of "attacks" on him.
"In this highly politicized assembly, the discussion is currently focused on my personality, not on the content of my report," the Belgian press cites the words of Desteks. http://www.levif.be/actualite/belgique/azerigate-destexhe-demissionne-de-l-assemblee-parlementaire-du-conseil-de-l-europe/article-normal-723899.html
According to Desteks, "the conditions for quiet debates are no longer fulfilled." Earlier, Desteks was at the center of the scandal surrounding the trip of a group of PACE members to Syria for meetings with Bashar Assad. This trip was not authorized by the assembly. In this connection, the president of the PACE, Pedro Agramunt, was not credited for participating in such a trip. -06D--
Politics
-
As NATO's Washington summit draws closer, the battle of arguments over whether Ukraine should finally be invited to join the Alliance is in full swing. President Biden and other key administration officials have made it clear that war-torn Ukraine will 'eventually' join the 32-member bloc. In a speech at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute this week, Secretary Antony Blinken declared that the U.S. was bringing Ukraine closer to — and then into — NATO. "We’ll make sure that Ukraine’s bridge to NATO is strong and well-lit," he said.
-
Another column of military equipment of Russian peacekeepers left Azerbaijan today. Several dozens of armoured personnel carriers were loaded on the railway station Goran (near the regional centre of Geranboy) and taken to Russia.
-
Aide to Azerbaijani President Hikmet Hajiyev met with US President's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at the White House within the framework of his visit to the US on 17 May.
-
Health condition of the former head of the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA), Jahangir Hajiyev, who is serving a prison sentence in Colony 13, has deteriorated. He is not receiving qualified medical care, lawyer Fakhraddin Mehdiyev, who met with Hajiyev on 17 May, told Turan.
Leave a review