SHUSHA, Azerbaijan, July 13. We are ready for normalization, but they should make the first step, said President Ilham Aliyev answering a question about Azerbaijan's relations with PACE and the European Parliament during a meeting with participants of the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum.
"We joined the Council of Europe voluntarily in 2001.
At that time, it was a different organization, and in general, Europe was different at that time. We were entering that Europe with those aspirations, with those hopes that membership there would help us to resolve our main issue, to resolve the Garabagh conflict, and to restore our sovereignty. So again, I think I have taken too much of the audience's time on this issue.
But taking into account your comprehensive question, I would like to inform you and the audience about what happened and what should be done. We are ready for normalization, but they should make the first step," the head of state said.
