The Head of the Georgian Parliament’s Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Givi Mikanadze has sent a letter to the President of the PACE Theodoros Rousopoulos. That letter touches upon the resolution on non-ratification of the credentials of the delegation of the Milli Majlis of the Azerbaijan Republic to the PACE that had been adopted at the Assembly’s session.

‘We are concerned with the fact that such harsh decisions are made without substantial discussions and analysis of possible adverse effects on future PACE-Azerbaijan and PACE-South Caucasus relations as well as the future of PACE itself,’ it is written in the letter.

In the opinion of the Head of the Georgian Delegation to the Assembly, this ‘…resolution makes further co-operation and exchange with Azerbaijan in the framework of PACE impossible. It will also negatively affect the level of engagement of PACE with the South Caucasus region.

‘Moreover, this decision is damaging to the mission and reputation of the Council of Europe as an important platform for substantial dialogue and co-operation. Therefore, this resolution goes against the spirit of the values and commitments of the Council of Europe, may lead to more polarization and damage especially valuable trust-based co-operation between PACE member states.

‘Taking into account the above-mentioned, I would like to kindly call for reconsideration of this resolution to avoid detrimental effects of the decision on non-ratification of the credentials of the delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

‘We believe that annulling this resolution will serve the best interests of the Council of Europe,’ it is stressed at the end of the latter.

The Press and Public Relations Department

The Milli Majlis