Azerbaijan considers full withdrawal from Council of Europe after PACE voting rights suspension

Azerbaijan is considering leaving the Council of Europe after the suspension of its delegation's voting rights in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, President Ilham Aliyev said on Monday. He made the remarks in his opening address at the fourth Shusha Global Media Forum. Aliyev said Baku was weighing "not just the suspension or freezing of our membership" but a full exit from the organisation.

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The president said the Council of Europe's secretary general had contacted him and asked Azerbaijan not to take that step. According to Aliyev, the request was made in an effort to find a way to improve the situation and keep Azerbaijan inside the 46-member body. He said the turning point in relations came after the delegation's voting rights were suspended in 2024.

Aliyev said he had led Azerbaijan's delegation to the assembly in 2001 and described the deterioration in ties as regrettable. He said Baku had no interest in deepening tensions, but insisted that the voting rights of the Azerbaijani delegation must be restored before it would return. He also said the decision against Azerbaijan was unjust and that the organisation should acknowledge its mistake.

The comments matter because they point to a possible rupture between Azerbaijan and one of Europe's main human rights and democratic institutions. Membership of the Council of Europe is often seen as a marker of political and legal engagement with the continent's wider institutional framework. A full withdrawal would therefore carry significance beyond the immediate dispute over voting rights, affecting Azerbaijan's place in European diplomatic structures.

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The remarks also come against a backdrop of continued contact between Baku and European Union leaders. Aliyev referred to recent visits by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa and the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, describing the level of engagement with Brussels as significant. That suggests Azerbaijan is maintaining active ties with the EU even as relations with the Council of Europe remain strained.

What remains unclear is whether Baku is using the threat of withdrawal as leverage or whether a formal exit is being actively prepared. It is also not clear what specific steps, if any, the Council of Europe might take in response to Aliyev's comments. The key issue to watch is whether the suspension of voting rights is reversed, which Aliyev said would allow the Azerbaijani delegation to return.

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