ArmInfo.Corruption scandal in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) around the Azerbaijani delegation is a slap in the face of Europe, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan believes.
To the journalist's question how Armenia can use these circumstances, Kocharyan said in particular: "Let's be frank. We are present at the hearing, and you say what step we can take. In reality, this is nothing more than a court - in a figurative sense, not from a legal point of view. What is happening all over Europe is evidence that the cup of patience is overflowing. " At the same time, he noted that people have become weaker, even European officials can not resist the temptation. He also drew attention to the fact that in the corruption scandal those parliamentarians whose powers are already expiring and they have no chance of re-election are mixed up.
Kocharian also considers it not accidental that Azerbaijan blames Armenia for all deadly sins.
The day before, the Guardian newspaper recalled the corruption scandal developing around the PACE since last year. The newspaper presented data of a journalistic investigation, according to which the Azerbaijani authorities used fictitious companies in the UK for laundering 2.9 billionAMD. This money was used to bribe European politicians who lobbied Azerbaijan's interests in the EU and blocked resolutions condemning human rights violations in the country. In the summer of 2016, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that the Milan prosecutor's office accused the well-known Italian politician Luca Volonta, the former leader of the European People's Party faction in PACE, of receiving major bribes from the representatives of Azerbaijan. And in April this year, The Guardian revealed details of the corruption scandal in PACE with the participation of Baku. Then The Guardian reported that two people with high level experience of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) told The Guardian that they believe that Azerbaijan offered its members bribes for votes. This body consists of 324 delegates from national parliaments and meets four times a year in Strasbourg.