This was stated by the country's president, Ilham Aliyev. In a speech at the fourth Shusha Global Media Forum, Aliyev said that Baku is considering "not only the suspension or freezing of membership" in the Council of Europe. "We are definitely considering the possibility of exiting this structure," the president of Azerbaijan explained. According to him, the leadership of the Council of Europe has approached Baku with a request to find a solution so that the country remains a member of the organization. "The Secretary General of the Council of Europe contacted me and asked us not to do this and to find a way to improve the situation," Aliyev said. Azerbaijan remains a full member of the organization, although the voting rights of its delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) were suspended in 2024. "We have not made a single wrong step. They made an unfair decision. Therefore, they should take a step back and acknowledge their mistakes," Aliyev emphasized. It should be noted that PACE, at its January 2024 session, refused to confirm the powers of the Azerbaijani delegation due to the situation with human rights and the country's refusal to allow Assembly observers at the presidential elections.