Baku Sun, Azerbaijan
May 7 2004
FM gives statement on Cyprus issue
BAKU – The position of members of the Azerbaijani parliament on the
Cyprus issue does not reflect that of the government and neither can
it be interpreted as a change in the relationship between Baku and
Ankara, a statement issued Wednesday by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of
Foreign Affairs read.
The statement printed in the state-run Azerbaijan daily newspaper on
Thursday said nothing can besmirch the relationship between the two
countries who are bound by centuries-old historical, cultural,
language and other ties.
Members of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe stated on Tuesday that they intentionally
did not show up at PACE’s 29 April meeting, which denied Turkish
Cypriots a right to be represented at the Parliamentary Assembly.
Head of the delegation, Samad Seyidov said they did not attend the
meeting in order to protect Azerbaijan’s interests.
Voting against the PACE resolution that urged Turkish Cypriots to
attend the Parliamentary Assembly meetings as `integrated’ with the
Greeks Cypriots, would set up a new precedent under which all
unrecognized republics, including Nagorno (Daghlig)-Karabakh, could
demand representation at PACE, Seyidov said.
The foreign ministry statement said Azerbaijan has always been for a
fair solution of the Cyprus problem, and supports the activities of
the United Nations, European Union and the Council of Europe to help
settle the problem.