Press Review 03/18/2016

The Azadlig commenting on yesterday's pardon decree by President Ilham Aliyev, called it "yet another half-hearted pardon" because the issue of political prisoners is not completely solved.

In particular, none of the PFPA members was pardoned, so the newspaper considers this a manifestation of extreme bias against the party.

The release of 14 political prisoners is not the result of political will of official Baku, but is the requirement of the West, which demands the release of all political prisoners.

The expert Thomas de Waal also considers that the release of 14 political prisoners is the intention of official Baku to appease Washington before Aliyev’s traveling to the United States for the nuclear summit.

The Novoye Vremya discusses the current international geopolitical position of Azerbaijan, which prefers to stick to the "golden mean." On the one hand, official Baku implements energy projects independent of Russia, but on the other, it does not make steps that could lead to the Kremlin's dissatisfaction. At the same time, Azerbaijan is trying to develop a dynamic relationship with the EU.

The Yeni Musavat comments the order of President Aliyev on the implementation of the roadmap of the main aspects and areas of the economy.

MP Vahid Ahmedov considers that this program should be accepted not for a long period, but particularly for 2016, in order to get out of this difficult situation.

The expert Azer Mehdiyev called the program belated. He expressed regret that such belated steps are made instead of reform programs.