Kocharyan: Corruption scandal in PACE around Azerbaijani delegation -  slap in the face of Europe

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.