Azerbaijani MPs promise to respond harshly to liquidation of AAC in Russia

The decision of the Supreme Court (SC) of Russia to liquidate the "All-Russian Azerbaijani Congress" is of political nature, and it can seriously damage the Russian-Azerbaijani relations. This was stated by the Azerbaijani MPs who demanded to audit the Russian cultural centres in the country. The Russian SC has made an unreasonable decision. This opinion was voiced by Ramil Akhmetgaliev, an analyst of the human rights association "Agora".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 15, the Russian SC granted the request for the liquidation of the "All-Russian Azerbaijani Congress" (AAC). The Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) stated that the charter of the "All-Russian Azerbaijani Congress" failed to comply with the laws of the Russian Federation.

"For the first time I face the case when the organization is liquidated because of its name, which does not specify the nature of its activities," noted Ramil Akhmetgaliev.

He has added that "only significant violations can be" the grounds for liquidation of an organization. According to Ramil Akhmetgaliev, the Russian (MoJ) abused the Law "On Foreign Agents".

The decision of the Russian SC was also criticized by Ali Guseinli, the leader of the working group on Azerbaijan-Russia interparliamentary relations. He believes that the decision pronounced by the Russian SC "contradicts the spirit of strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Russia."

Togrul Djuvarly, a member of the Azerbaijani National Public Committee for European Integration, expects no deterioration of relations between the countries and no drastic change in the Azerbaijan's foreign policy.

He has noted that at present, Russia "has not so many allies in the post-Soviet space to spoil relations with Azerbaijan."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.