“I regard the briefing at the U.S. Helsinki Commission as normal. The purpose of this briefing was to show that the two partner countries are interested in developing the relations,” said Chairman of the Democratic Reforms party of Azerbaijan, MP Asim Mollazadeh who attended the U.S. Helsinki Commission’s briefing on Azerbaijan, APA reports.
The MP said that at the briefing the U.S. had put forward its position on the conduct of the upcoming presidential elections in a democratic basis: “The US Deputy Assistant Secretaryof State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Thomas O. Melia and Director for Russia and Eurasia at the National Endowment for Democracy Miriam Lanskoy attended the briefing. Azerbaijani Ambassador to U.S. Elin Suleymanov, Chairman of the International and Inter-Parliamentary Relations Committee of Azerbaijani Parliament Samad Seyidov delivered speeches at the briefing. Eldar Namazov and Erkin Gadirli also put forward their position at the briefing. Various issues were discussed, criticizing views were voiced and the Azerbaijani officials commented on these views. I consider that such briefings are normal. I think attending such briefings and discussions raise awareness of the American society and politicians of the region.”
Asim Mollazadeh commented on speeches of the U.S. representatives: “I regard these speeches as normal. They expressed their opinions basing on the information received from non-governmental organizations of Azerbaijan. This kind of discussion always serves to raise awareness of the region.”
The MP said that Helsinki Commission is the relevant commission of the Congress: “The Commission includes members of the Senate and House of Representatives. Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives didn’t attend the briefing, only representatives and members of the Congress attended it.”
Asim Mollazadeh said they discussed a variety of topics: “Ambassador Elin Suleymanov and Samad Seyidov raised issues on Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan, fate of about one million refugees and internally displaced persons, ethnic cleansing conducted against the Azerbaijanis in Nagorno-Karabakh, problems faced by the Moldovan Parliamentary Advocate Aurelia Grigoriu in Yerevan. I also asked Thomas Melia about the problems existing in the region. She shared my concern and noted that external pressures in the region would not benefit anyone.”
The MP said that it is wrong to regard the event as hearings: “This was not a hearing, but a briefing. There is a difference between these phrases. Hearings are conducted by the Senators. This briefing was an information session for the Congress.”