"I know that Azerbaijan is a member of the Council of Europe since 2001. Now I`m really sorry. It was annoying to our [Azerbaijani] guests.
I did not criticize Azerbaijan. I just wanted to clarify that situation, in which in this country now is - the situation is excellent economically and politically, but if we talk about the environment of the country, it is not so perfect," said Milanovic.
The prime minister said "Azerbaijan is certainly a democratic country".
"When I said what you mentioned, I only meant that the standards in this country are not yet at the level of the same Scandinavian countries. But just as in Croatia. However, it is clear that in Azerbaijan [which is at war] today democracy is far more than it was in Croatia during the war.
Azerbaijan`s political system is not a single party, the country holds free elections. Speaking of free elections, I mean elections in which the various parties are involved," he said, adding that at the same time, the election results in any society do not always please everyone.
"But to say that Azerbaijan is a non-democratic government would be wrong. Especially when someone uses my words to misinterpret for his own purposes. That I cannot allow. In fact, it is absolutely clear what I wanted to say, speaking of Azerbaijan. I wanted to point out the hypocrisy of some people [critics of the meeting with Azerbaijani partners, during the visit of the delegation from the state to Croatia]," said Milanovic.
According to the prime minister of Croatia, it is necessary to work, to create jobs, to cooperate with the normal states, which include also Azerbaijan. And one more thing. Azerbaijan is a country where the population is almost entirely Muslim, but women are given all the rights and freedoms.
I do not even know where else in the Muslim world, they have been granted the same rights. It is a country that still in 1918-1920, during the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, has the first democratic parliament in the Muslim world. So all of this has a serious story. Once again, I apologize to our Azerbaijani friends. And please do not use my words for your own selfish purposes.
Democracy can be different. One thing is clear - if Azerbaijan was not a democratic country and did not fit the parameters of the Council of Europe, it would not have been a member of this organization," concluded Milanovic.
Recall that on 13 March, Prime Minister Milanovic, talking to representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) protesting against the visit of the Azerbaijani delegation headed by President Ilham Aliyev to Croatia, called Azerbaijan undemocratic country.
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