Azerbaijan wants to normalize relations with CE - president 

ArmInfo.  Azerbaijan seriously discussed not only suspending its activities in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe but also withdrawing from the Council of Europe altogether. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev  announced this at the opening of a global media forum in occupied  Shushi.

According to Aliyev, Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset  asked him not to do this and to allow the situation to improve. "I  have postponed this decision for now. Unfortunately, no progress has  been made since then. On the contrary, the Parliamentary Assembly of  the Council of Europe is making completely unacceptable,  ultimatum-like demands on Azerbaijan. We didn't spoil the  relationship-they did," Aliyev assured. He also believes that even if  Azerbaijan completely withdraws from the Council of Europe, virtually  no one in the country will notice.

Aliyev further acknowledged that PACE imposed sanctions against  Azerbaijan following the ethnic cleansing committed in Artsakh. "And  in January 2024, the Assembly tabled the credentials of the  Azerbaijani delegation and stripped it of its voting rights.  Ostensibly, this was due to human rights issues.  However, if that  had truly been the case, such a step would likely have been taken  earlier. It was simply punishment for us restoring our sovereignty,"  Aliyev cynically stated.  "We want to normalize relations. But they  must take the first step," he added.

At the same time, the Azerbaijani leader expressed satisfaction with  relations with the European Commission. "We are very pleased with our  relations with the European Commission. I believe the frequency of  visits by high-level EU officials to Azerbaijan in recent months has  also been unprecedented.  For example, from March to July, the  President of the European Council, the President of the European  Commission, and the High Representative of the European Union for  Foreign Affairs and Security Policy visited Azerbaijan. All of these  visits were very successful, yielding fruitful results, and included  broad and detailed discussions not only of bilateral relations but  also of ongoing global developments," Aliyev concluded, as quoted by  Azerbaijani media.