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Azerbaijan's President Aliyev says Baku is considering full withdrawal from the Council of Europe

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said at the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum on July 13 that Baku is considering full withdrawal from the Council of Europe, whose Parliamentary Assembly suspended Azerbaijan's voting rights in 2024; Aliyev said 'even if Azerbaijan were to leave the Council of Europe entirely, almost no one in the country would notice it,' while also saying Baku wants normalised relations if Europe takes the first step

Leaders·Conflicts· pending-decision Who Decides·What They're Not Saying ·6 takes · ·rbtfl upd Jul 14, 2026
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The split

The same story, as told by newsrooms in different countries. Their words, attributed and linked.

Belgium / pan-European

Euronews

“Aliyev said Baku was considering full withdrawal from the 46-member Council of Europe after Azerbaijan's voting rights in PACE were suspended in 2024.”

pan-European, European institutions framingread the original ↗

Armenia

News.am

“Armenian coverage of Azerbaijan's consideration of full Council of Europe withdrawal.”

Armenian state-aligned newswire; covers Azerbaijan's Council of Europe withdrawal threat from Armenia's vantage point, a directly affected rival state in the South Caucasusread the original ↗

Russia

TASS

“According to the Azerbaijani president, his country has been discriminated against at the Council of Europe for two years and Baku is considering full withdrawal.”

Russian state news agency; covers Aliyev's Council of Europe withdrawal threat, noting Azerbaijan's claim of discrimination, providing the Moscow perspective on a South Caucasus ally's posture toward European institutionsread the original ↗

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Summary

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said at the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum on July 13 that Baku is considering complete withdrawal from the Council of Europe. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) suspended Azerbaijan's voting rights in 2024, citing governance concerns. Aliyev said "even if Azerbaijan were to leave the Council of Europe entirely, almost no one in the country would notice it," while simultaneously stating that Baku wants normalised relations if Europe takes the first step. Euronews (pan-European) read the statement as an escalatory signal; APA, Azerbaijan's state agency, carried the dual message of grievance and conditional openness. The Armenia Azerbaijan relationship and the Shusha Corridor remain in the background of the CoE tension.

Why it matters

Azerbaijan is a key Caspian gas transit corridor for Europe and holds the most sensitive unresolved elements of the Armenia Azerbaijan relationship. A full CoE withdrawal would remove one of the few remaining European rule-of-law levers over Baku and complicate EU members, particularly Germany and Italy, that have expanded Azerbaijani gas imports since 2022 while facing criticism for overlooking Aliyev's governance record.

What to watch

  • Whether the Council of Europe responds with a formal engagement offer, procedural action, or further PACE sanctions.
  • Armenia's reaction: Yerevan is still in a delicate post-war diplomatic process with Baku where CoE membership is a shared nominal commitment.
  • EU member-state response and any effect on energy-for-governance trade-offs with Azerbaijan.

The briefing, by email