BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 15. Azerbaijan is one of the relatively few Muslim-majority countries participating in European institutions and therefore has first-hand knowledge of the processes taking place within them, President Ilham Aliyev has said.
The Azerbaijani President made the remarks during a meeting with participants of international conferences in Baku.
“Azerbaijan is one of the very few Muslim countries that participates in European organisations. That is why we know what is happening there,” President Ilham Aliyev said.
Referring to Azerbaijan’s experience as a member of the Council of Europe, the President said the country had faced what he described as injustice in the past, continues to face it today and would probably encounter similar attitudes in the future.
“As a member of the Council of Europe, we faced these injustices, we are facing them now, and we will probably continue to face them,” he said.
President Ilham Aliyev argued that what he described as an undeclared smear campaign against Azerbaijan would not end because the country pursues an independent policy and protects its national identity.
“Why? Because we do not bow to anyone and never will. We speak our mind, protect our national identity and preserve our way of life,” the President emphasised.
On September 15, President Ilham Aliyev received Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States Kubanychbek Omuraliev, members and observers of the Council of Heads of Muslim Religious Administrations of the Organization of Turkic States, co-organisers of the Yahya Bakuvi International Conference, and a delegation comprising members of the Supreme Religious Council of the Peoples of the Caucasus.
