Brussels, 12/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 11 February, the Azeri minister for foreign affairs criticised High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle on the investigation into charges against government opponents, Tofig Yagublu and Ilgar Mammadov (see EUROPE 10783). The Azeri foreign minister considers this as pressure and says that such interference in the investigation process is “unacceptable”.
In the view of the minister's spokesman, Elman Abdullayev, “Europe, which is the so-called cradle of democracy, must understand that it cannot intervene in the investigative process. Such intervention is pressure on the investigative process”. Not understanding the European approach, he said that such a “non-objective and unfair” approach casts a shadow on the neutrality and objectivity of the EU.
Abdullyev added that Ashton and Füle's statements also pose the question of being biased with regard to Azerbaijan, at a time when other events in the region do not receive an appropriate response from the EU. (CG/transl.fl)