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CONSEQUENCES OF AZERBAIJAN'S 'CAVIAR DIPLOMACY' AT PACE
tert.am
25.06.12
Naira Zohrabyan, a member of the Armenian delegation to the CE
Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) informed Tert.am of the report Caviar
Diplomacy - How Azerbaijan silenced the Council of Europe by the
European Stability Initiative (ESI).
The report contains the names and photos of the PACE members bribed
by Azerbaijan and lobbying for its interests.
"The report indicates that the persons in question got about 0.6kg
of caviar each, in addition to the money they may have got from
Azerbaijan's authorities. Twenty MPs are named, including Mike Hancock,
who is known for his anti-Armenian positions," Zohrabyan said.
Specifically, with respect to the manifestation of this "caviar
policy," its financial aspects and scale, the ESI, referring to its
source in Strasbourg, writes: "One kilogram of caviar is worth between
1,300 and 1,400 euro. Each of our friends in PACE receives at every
session, four times a year, at least 0.4 to 0.6 kg. Our key friends
in PACE, who get this, are around 10 to 12 people. There are another
3 to 4 people in the secretariat."
The source also notes that for some of these "friends" the caviar is
just the beginning.
"Caviar, at least, is given at every session. But during visits to
Baku many other things are given as well. Many deputies are regularly
invited to Azerbaijan and generously paid. In a normal year, at least
30 to 40 would be invited, some of them repeatedly. People are invited
to conferences, events, sometimes for summer vacations. These are
real vacations and there are many expensive gifts. Gifts are mostly
expensive silk carpets, gold and silver items, drinks, caviar and
money. In Baku, a common gift is 2 kg of caviar."
On behalf of the Armenian delegation, Mrs Zohrabyan stressed that
not only the Armenian delegation, but also European organizations are
concerned over the fact that international institutions are turning
into ones with high corruption risks.
Strasbourg-based sources report that the Azeri delegation spares no
efforts to prevent the report from being discussed by any political
group.
tert.am
25.06.12
Naira Zohrabyan, a member of the Armenian delegation to the CE
Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) informed Tert.am of the report Caviar
Diplomacy - How Azerbaijan silenced the Council of Europe by the
European Stability Initiative (ESI).
The report contains the names and photos of the PACE members bribed
by Azerbaijan and lobbying for its interests.
"The report indicates that the persons in question got about 0.6kg
of caviar each, in addition to the money they may have got from
Azerbaijan's authorities. Twenty MPs are named, including Mike Hancock,
who is known for his anti-Armenian positions," Zohrabyan said.
Specifically, with respect to the manifestation of this "caviar
policy," its financial aspects and scale, the ESI, referring to its
source in Strasbourg, writes: "One kilogram of caviar is worth between
1,300 and 1,400 euro. Each of our friends in PACE receives at every
session, four times a year, at least 0.4 to 0.6 kg. Our key friends
in PACE, who get this, are around 10 to 12 people. There are another
3 to 4 people in the secretariat."
The source also notes that for some of these "friends" the caviar is
just the beginning.
"Caviar, at least, is given at every session. But during visits to
Baku many other things are given as well. Many deputies are regularly
invited to Azerbaijan and generously paid. In a normal year, at least
30 to 40 would be invited, some of them repeatedly. People are invited
to conferences, events, sometimes for summer vacations. These are
real vacations and there are many expensive gifts. Gifts are mostly
expensive silk carpets, gold and silver items, drinks, caviar and
money. In Baku, a common gift is 2 kg of caviar."
On behalf of the Armenian delegation, Mrs Zohrabyan stressed that
not only the Armenian delegation, but also European organizations are
concerned over the fact that international institutions are turning
into ones with high corruption risks.
Strasbourg-based sources report that the Azeri delegation spares no
efforts to prevent the report from being discussed by any political
group.