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 26 June - The Day of Azerbaijani Armed Forces |
 “All our proposals on the draft resolution on the activity of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan were accepted”, Samad Seyidov, head of Azerbaijani delegation to PACE told APA European bureau. He said the report made by the co-rapporteurs was a balanced document. “There are some true points in the report and of course, those will be taken into consideration. However there are issues not to be appropriate to the national interests of Azerbaijan and we will approach those issues within the interests of our country”. |
 Inauguration of a new building of NATO international school of Azerbaijan (NISA) was held in Baku on Tuesday. According to APA, NATO Assistant Secretary General for the Public Diplomacy Division Jean-Francois Bureau spoke at the opening ceremony about the importance of such kind of schools and urged to expand and to develop the activity of these schools. Jean-Francois Bureau said this school would provide the students with the opportunities to get wide information about the NATO and international processes generally. NATO official said the alliance united the democratic countries which considered energy security, democracy, human rights, stability and development as the main values. |
 OSCE General Secretariat answered Azerbaijan’s questionnaire in connection with OSCE Minsk Group, Head of Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan to OSCE, Ambassador Fuad Ismayilov told APA. According to the answer, the diplomats co-chairing OSCE Minsk Group can be replaced basing on the principles and norms of OSCE. Fuad Ismayilov said that Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry was studying the answer. |
 Free Consumers Union has today organized a roundtable in Baku to discuss food security related issues. Eyyub Huseynov, chairman of Free Consumers Union, said that labels and instructions of goods imported into the country must have translation on them in accordance with the State Language Law. “Also, by Law on Foodstuffs, products for sale on the domestic market must have labels in Azeri,” he added. Huseynov added 70% of child foods have label in Azeri as a result of long work together with UNICEF. |
 Milli Majlis held its next session on June 24. A credit agreement for the implementation of 2007 action protocol between the governments of Azerbaijan and France, CIS cooperation program for combating illegal drugs, psychoactive substances and their precursors for 2008-2010, amendments to the laws on the Status of Military Servicemen, Public Service, Criminal-Procedural and Penitentiary Codes were discussed and approved at the session. |
 Baku will host a conference on international transport corridors on June 25. The Ministry of Transport said the event will bring together about 130 represenatives from 20m countries, as well as the EU and Asian countries. Azerbaijan international transport corridors like TRACECA and North-South Corridor in its territory. |
 The third conference of heads of Azerbaijani diplomatic offices in the foreign countries will be held in the Foreign Ministry early in July. Spokesman for Foreign Ministry Khazar Ibrahim told APA that the conference would be held on the eve of Azerbaijan’s Day of Diplomacy to be marked on July 9. Such conferences are held every two years. |
 A two-day international conference “Azerbaijan’s integration into Euro-Atlantic space and democratic elections” commenced in Baku on Tuesday. Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Hulusi Kilic spoke about the development of Azerbaijan-NATO relations. He said Azerbaijan began its great energy policy in 1994 and cooperation with NATO would make significant contribution to Azerbaijan’s integration into Euro-Atlantic space. Kilic said Turkey supported Azerbaijan in its integration into Euro-Atlantic space. “We believe that upcoming presidential elections will meet the democratic standards. This election will promote the development of democracy in the South Caucasus and the international confidence to Azerbaijan”. The Ambassador also touched upon the non-resolution of Nagorno Karabakh problem yet. |
 The activity of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan is discussed on the second working day of the summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Co-rapporteurs of the PACE Monitoring Committee on Azerbaijan Andres Herkel and Eugenia Zivkova delivered speeches at the meeting, APA European bureau reports. Andres Herkel said the situation in Azerbaijan still causes concern. “We have to think about why today we are discussing Azerbaijan again, because the situation in Azerbaijan still causes concern. We concern about the human rights situation, particularly about the freedom of mass media in the country. There is no heartwarming situation in this field. Unfortunately such kind of facts can play a negative role in the achievement of positive changes. However we welcome the adoption of law on the “Freedom of Assembly” and parliament discussions on the prevention of money laundering and terrorism. |
 Solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is out of the Council of Europe competence. This was said by Carl Bildt, Sweden’s Foreign Minister and Chairman of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, while answering to Azerbaijani MP Ganira Pashayeva’s question why the Council of Europe did not demand from Armenia to liberate the Azerbaijani lands. “The negotiations to solve the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh conflict underway. We should continue to hold meetings of the two Presidents, who are able to speed up settlement of the conflict,” Bildt said. |
 A special meeting of Milli Majlis [Azerbaijan Parliament] will be held in Ganja, the Azerbaijani second huge city, on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Azerbaijani Parliament. The first parliament in the history of Azerbaijan was elected in 1918 during the period of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (April 1918 – May 1920). The Azerbaijani Parliament held 145 meetings, adopted more than 230 legislations during its 17-month existence. The last meeting of the Parliament was held on 27 April 1920 – a day before the declaration of Soviet power in Azerbaijan. |
 The Azerbaijani opposition bloc Azadlig will not change its decision to boycott the upcoming presidential elections. “Recently approved supplements and changes into the Election Code do not have any significance for us. We stated to boycott the elections before approving of the draft,” Ali Karimli, Co-founder of Azadlig and Chairman of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), told TrendNews on 24 June. The Parliament of Azerbaijan passed the Bill on Supplements and Changes into the Election Code on 2 June. According to the Bill, the presidential candidates are prohibited to conduct election campaign in the state-owned TV channels, radios and newspapers, to stick agitation papers on walls and private enterprises, with the term of election campaign being shortened from four months to 75 days. Furthermore, the number of signatures required for the registration of the presidential candidates has been decreased from 45,000 to 40,000. |
 On 24 June, the opposition parties Musavat, Popular Front of Unified Azerbaijan, Classical Popular Front and Azadlig bloc visited the grave of Abulfaz Elchibay, ex-President of Azerbaijan and former Chairman of the Popular Front party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), due to his 70th birthday. Elhibay was born in the Keleki village in Ordubad region of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic in June 1938. He graduated from the oriental studies faculty in the Baku State University. For some time he worked as a translator in Egypt. Later he worked in the Baku State University and National Academy of Science. |
 Exclusive interview of Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, for Trend News: Question: What is your appraisal to Azerbaijan’s fulfillment of its CE obligations? Answer: Azerbaijan takes it utmost in this connection and can fulfill its obligations even better. |
 The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Ukraine Victor Yushenko will hold talks on bilateral and regional cooperation in Baku, the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Ukraine Talat Aliyev said to TrendNews. The President Victor Yushenko has instructed the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to develop an action plan for the businesslike visits to Azerbaijan and Georgia to take part in the third summit of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development- GUAM. According to the diplomat, the high-level Azerbaijani-Ukrainian talks will be held during one-day businesslike visit of the Ukrainian President Victor Yushenko on 30 June. |
 The Government of Azerbaijan will consider the issue of releasing the prisoners named in the Resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). “It is not a requirement, but this issue takes a character of recommendation. The Government of Azerbaijan will discuss implementation of these recommendations and the issue of pre-term release of these people,” Aydin Mirzazade, member of Azerbaijani delegation to the PACE, told TrendNews on 24 June. The PACE passed a Resolution No 11627 ‘Situation with democratic institutions in Azerbaijan on the eve of elections’ on Azerbaijan. |
 Terri Davis, the Council of Europe Secretary General is expected to pay a visit to Baku. Secretary General is invited to participate at the conference ‘International dialogue’ in Baku in December. This was told TrendNews by Davis. “The decision regarding my visit to Azerbaijan will be made in September. I am very glad to visit Azerbaijan. I have visited this country before,” Davis said. |
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