NO COUNTRY HAS RIGHT TO CHANGE PACE MONITORING GROUP, COUNCIL OF EUROPE SECRETARY GENERAL STATES

No county has the right to change the PACE monitoring group. Council of Europe Secretary General Walter Schwimmer has stated in Yerevan commenting on displeasure of Azerbaijan regarding the activities of the PACE monitoring group. Schwimmer noted the CE Parliamentary Assembly has the right to appoint or to dismiss the monitoring group members. It should be reminded, Azeri foreign minister Vilayat Guliyev has negatively evaluated the activities of the PACE monitoring member for Azerbaijan, Swiss deputy Andreas Gross. According to the official Baku, Gross’s positions “is noted for narrowness and subjectivism”. At the recent PACE session, the Azeri delegation demanded the replacement of Gross, accusing him of fact distortion while preparing the report on Azerbaijan’s fulfillment of the obligations to the Council of Europe.