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

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.