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Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry cancelled the visit of a European Commission delegation to Baku where preliminary discussions of the agreement on strategic cooperation were scheduled to be held next week, Gazeta.ru reported citing Interfax-Azerbaijan news agency.

“In general, we should reconsider our relations with the European Union that shows strong anti-Azerbaijani and anti-Islamic tendencies,” a ministry statement said.

The Head of the EU Representative Office to Baku Malena Mard was earlier on Friday summoned to Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. Deputy foreign minister of Azerbaijan Mahmud Mamed Guliyev told her that Azerbaijan strongly condemns the resolution on the human rights situation in Azerbaijan, passed by the European Parliament. The resolution criticizes “the unprecedented government repressions against civil society” and calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release the political prisoners, including human rights activists and reporters.

“The document deliberately politicizes some criminal cases, and in contrast to their true essence, unfounded claims are put forward,” the deputy FM said.

Mard promised to inform Brussels of official Baku’s position.

Meanwhile, International Center of Diaspora NGO plans to stage a protest outside the EU Office in Baku at 2:00 pm on September 12. The statement did not say whether the municipality sanctioned that protest action, Turan news agency said. As a rule, members of various NGOs and social structures close to the authorities are involved in such actions.

The website also reports that official Baku angrily reacted to the European Parliament’s resolution that harshly criticizes the human rights situation in Azerbaijan and raises the issue of sanctions against judges and politicians involved in crackdowns on activists for political motives. Azerbaijan’s economy minister, head of the State Commission for Cooperation with the EU Shahin Mustafayev said at a meeting with Malena Mard that that step of the European Parliament “will not go without a response”.
The presidential aide Ali Hasanov also criticized the European Parliament’s September 10 resolution that calls for sanctions against Azerbaijani state officials. According to Turan, Hasanov reiterated his favorite statements to the effect that Azerbaijan is the most democratic state with an independent policy, and the country is developing dynamically and has high international reputation.

An extraordinary session of the parliament is due on September 14. The reason is also the resolution adopted by the European Parliament yesterday. The website notes that the session is being convened at MPs initiative, but the order most probably came from the presidential administration and the MPs were urgently recalled from vacation.

As was reported, yesterday, on September 10 the European parliament passed a resolution that calls for targeted sanctions against Azerbaijani officials violating human rights. The draft was prepared by ALDE group and sparked a heated debate over the issue of putting it to the vote. The resolution was eventually passed by a vote of 365-202, with 72 abstentions.