04.10.2000, MEDIAMAX, YEREVAN. Armenia has always understood the wish of the Council of Europe to accept Armenia and Azerbaijan in this organization simultaneously, said today the Foreign Minister of Armenia Vardan Oskanian at a press conference in Yerevan.
But today Armenia is anxious about the circumstance that its full membership in the Council of Europe depends in fact on the membership of Azerbaijan, the minister said. “As it is known, international organizations lay serious claims to Azerbaijan concerning both the upcoming parliamentary elections and human rights and freedom”, said Vardan Oskanian. He noted that after November 5, after the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan, Yerevan is going to insist that the candidacies of the two countries be considered independent of each other. Armenian Foreign Minister said that during the “Millenium Summit” in New York he had presented this position to some foreign ministers of the member-states of the Council of Europe, and they accepted it with understanding.
Vardan Oskanian also said that he would discuss the question of Armenia’s membership in the Council of Europe in the second half of October in Strasbourg. -0-
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