Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced on Monday that his government is considering a complete withdrawal from the 46-member Council of Europe, citing sustained diplomatic bias against the nation following its 2023 military operations in the Karabakh region.
Speaking at the opening of the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum on July 13, Aliyev claimed that leaving the continent’s leading human rights organization would go largely unnoticed by the Azerbaijani public. The announcement marks a significant escalation in an ongoing diplomatic rift that deepened when the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) suspended Azerbaijan’s voting rights in January 2024.
While PACE cited concerns over democratic practices and human rights, Aliyev rebuked the measure on Monday as an unfounded “punishment” against Azerbaijan’s restored territorial integrity. In response to the 2024 suspension, the Azerbaijani delegation boycotted its participation in assembly meetings.
“If we have no voting rights, why should we be there?” Aliyev stated during the forum. The president further noted that Baku currently does not recognize decisions issued by the European Court of Human Rights, as the nation has been blocked from voting on the selection of its judges for over two years.
