An English Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Dorset from 1997 until he stood down at the 2015 general election. He has been president of the European Security and Defence Association since 2011. He was president of the Berlin Security Conference in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and remains a member of the BSC Steering Board.
SOURCES AND PRESS
Armenian Delegate to PACE: Robert Walter Openly Tells Lies
The unfortunate reports on the agenda of the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe pose a danger, since for the first time it is directly mentioned about unilateral concessions from Armenia. This was stated at a press conference by Levon Zurabyan, a member of the Armenian delegation to PACE, head of the parliamentary faction of the Armenian National Congress on January 18th.
The deputy recalled that on January 26 of the current year two reports would be discussed at PACE session: the report of the British deputy Robert Walter “The escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan” and the report of the Bosnian parliamentarian Milica Markovic ”The inhabitants of frontier regions of Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water”. ”At present, the situation is very difficult. This is no longer a failure, but a shame, and this is impermissible; it’s just impossible to speak about balance and neutrality. Today, Robert Walter allows himself openly to tell lies”, Zurabyan said. The deputy added, that the current situation, was formed not only due to the “oil-dollar” or “caviar” diplomacy of Azerbaijan. “There are serious MPs in the PACE who defend human rights and are loyal to the real mission of the organization, they are also outraged by the corrupt activities of Azerbaijan,” Zurabyan said. But, in his view, it is important not to respond to the primitive propaganda by Azerbaijan, since the simplest response in criticism undermines both Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. “The goal is to prevent the adoption of the resolution. We must speak in a language of Europeans, we need to explain that the adoption of such resolutions harms the negotiation process and creates tensions throughout the region, that these resolutions contradict the process of the OSCE Minsk Group”, Levon Zurabyan said. According to the deputy, at the moment the solution of the issue is to use the existing links and the strongest arguments to try to reach any results at the session by purely voting. “This is a very difficult task, but theoretically it is possible. The position of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries is also important”, Zurabyan added.
news.am
Europe will not give up Azeri caviar: Scandalous Robert Walter was PACE rapporteur on Karabakh
A deputy from the United Kingdom, Robert Walter was appointed rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. 35 parliamentarians voted for him, 32 -against, 3-abstained in the vote.
Robert Walter has long been known for his pro-Azerbaijani position. He actively lobbied the adoption of the report-“Growth of Violence in Karabakh and Other Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan” in the PACE. He also failed the acception of the report on political prisoners in Azerbaijan in the PACE.
Moreover, in 2013, Walter led the PACE observation mission in the presidential elections in Azerbaijan, which he assessed as transparent and fair. Then he said that Ilham Aliyev had won the elections, gaining the majority of votes: “We participated in the process of counting these votes and did not find any offense.” He noted that the adoption or non-acceptance of voting results by the defeated candidates is a political issue, and this question should be asked them.
“How can the opposition talk about the baselessness of our statement? I know that some people criticize the activities of the PACE in Azerbaijan. Representatives from many European countries are represented in the PACE, and they hold free discussions, take decisions, and make reports. I believe that these elections are a step forward. We have come to Azerbaijan to help democratic Azerbaijan and not to blame”, Robert Walter said.
Later, opposition candidate Jamil Hasanli accused the Azerbaijani authorities of bribing members of the PACE mission. According to him, negotiations with members of the mission were conducted in the Strasbourg Hilton hotel. The Council of Europe did not react to these accusations.
“The OSCE / ODIHR identified serious problems at all stages of the electoral process, including the voting day, and found that there was a restriction on the freedom of expression, assembly and association. At the same time, we were surprised, the PACE mission stated that the elections were free and transparent, including the voting day’’, it was said in the letter. Further, Christopher Maduro refers to the statement of State Department spokesman Mary Harf, who expressed support for ODIHR / OSCE assessments and concerns over violations on October 10th. Maduro also notes that the US has recently entered as a full member in the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and looks forward to active cooperation in promoting human rights and democratic governance through this important institution. “The US believes that the OSCE and the Council of Europe play a huge role in strengthening respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law,” the letter concluded.
In May 2012, the non-commercial organization “European Stability Initiative” published scandalous report “Caviar diplomacy”. The report says that the friendly members of the Council of Europe of Azerbaijan turn a blind eye to human rights violations, receiving in return from Baku sturgeon caviar, silk carpets, gold and silver jewelry and other expensive gifts.
The work details the chronology and mechanisms of bribing the deputies of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe by the Azerbaijani authorities. The study, in particular, says that the distribution of generous gifts is a part of Azerbaijani traditions, as well as the expectation that granted generosity will someday be repaid.
They are acting according to the logic, which in private conversations Azerbaijani officials call “caviar diplomacy”. It all began soon after Azerbaijan had joined the Council of Europe in 2001, and after the completion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in 2005, when petrodollars began to flow into the country’s treasury, the caviar policy was fully put into force.
“1 kg of caviar costs about 1300-1400 euros. Our friends in PACE (nearly 10-12 people) get minimum 0.4-0.6 kg of this delicates during every session which means four times in a year. The main friends of the country gets caviar are 10-12 people. There are also 3-4 people in the secretariat. During each session of the PACE, at least caviar is given. But during the visits to Baku many other things are given. Many deputies are regularly invited to Azerbaijan, and their visits are generously paid.
In a year, at least 30-40 people are invited, some of them repeatedly. The parliamentarians are invited to attend conferences, events, summer vacations in Azerbaijan. This is a real vacation, with a lot of expensive gifts, mostly expensive silk carpets, gold and silver products, drinks, caviar and money. The usual gift in Baku is 2 kg of caviar”, the analytical center then stated.
panarmenian.net
“Voice of Armenia”: Turkey’s Loyal Brother
Robert Walter, whose appointment as rapporteur for Karabakh caused a scandal in PACE, self-exposed. One can only applaud the British politician and the faithful friend of the Aliyev regime, who decided to throw off the last masks and openly declare his own engagement at least in Artsakh issue. For a couple of days ago, a message appeared that Walter had obtained Turkish citizenship. In the photographs, the lucky holder of the passport of the genocidal state poses together with his wife and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who personally handed him the document. An informed reader hardly needs to be explained for what merits Walter has received such honors.
Media reports also stated that the english politician expressed an acceptance speech in Turkish for his new citizenship in London at the country’s embassy during the ceremony. He stated that he was very happy about that event and was looking forward to the trip to Turkey. It was also found out that Walter married the Turkish woman back in 2011 and the same Cavusoglu, then the PACE chairman, attended the wedding. Presumably, friendly and business ties between the British MP and the Turks arose precisely during this period, and in the next few years Walter fully devoted his activities to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to promoting the interests of not only Ankara, but also Baku. And immediately lit up as an active client of “caviar diplomacy”, markedly distinguished by special devotion to the ruling clan of Azerbaijan, even against the backdrop of PACE, thoroughly saturated with corruption and petrodollars.
Lobbyism through family ties, in particular through the wife, the region is no longer surprising – it’s enough to recall Matthew Bryza with his wife named Baran. However, for the sake of justice, we note that the American tried to adhere to external decency and diplomatic ethics, allowing himself sometimes to even criticize official Baku and express reasonable thoughts on the Karabakh settlement. In addition, Bryza was smart enough not to get Turkish citizenship, which gave him the opportunity to formally look like an objective politician and speak for the US only.
In any case, the receipt of Turkish citizenship gives the official Yerevan additional weighty arguments in order to refuse categorically cooperation with the Turkish loyal citizen and not to look for options for civilized diversion with a view to save the sheep, and feed the wolves. By the way, no matter how harder the leadership of the Armenian parliament was in trying to observe the decorum in the relations with the European partners, but do not disdain in the country.
Last october Robert Walterwas was appointed by the PACE Rapporteur on Karabakh, and the report itself is entitled “The escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan”. The Armenian side immediately stated that the report was of a contract nature, and refused to cooperate with Walter, indicating the pro-Azerbaijani activities of the British MP. In order to persuade the partners from the National Assembly, Anne Brasseur, the PACE chairman, urgently rushed to Yerevan – Strasbourg is well aware that the report is unlikely to look objective and legitimate if the speaker only visits Baku. Head of the Armenian delegation to the PACE E. Naghdalyan several days later said that, initially, Walter had not planned to visit Karabakh, but “changed his position as a result of discussions and negotiations” and now he was planning to go also to Artsakh. It should be noted that such an evasive position of the leadership of the National Assembly of Armenia received sharp criticism from the Armenian public.
Meanwhile, official Stepanakert categorically stated that it was not going to accept the author of the report with an initially provocative title. The NKR MFA stressed that “the decision contains inadmissible language, pursues purely propagandistic goals and fits into the policy of Azerbaijan aimed at undermining the activities of the Minsk Group.” “The report with such a title and such approaches is nothing more than a political order, so we do not intend to cooperate with this team and this person,” said the press secretary of Artsakh President David Babayan, noting that NKR is ready for cooperation if the title and the contents of the report are reviewed. However, the PACE does not seem to think about changing the title and content of the report. He wrote more than once about the reasons for such a position, emphasizing the destructive role of PACE in the settlement of the Karabakh issue for more than 14 years, which Azerbaijan imposes on this organization through corrupt British deputies.
News about Walter’s obtainment of Turkish citizenship unties not only Stepanakert’s, but also Armenian’s hands. This fact harmoniously lies and naturally frames the entire political biography of Walter, the last years of which have been publicly painted – now already legitimately – with the colors of the Turkish flag. By the way, the Armenian side for some reason did not use in its argument the fact that Robert Walter since 2010 is, among other things, also a member of the “Conservative Friends of Azerbaijan” organization. How can a person with this background be appointed rapporteur for Karabakh – is not a rhetorical question to PACE, long drowned in the cans of caviar diplomacy of Baku.
Generally speaking, we should also thank Walter and the government of Turkey for such a gift to the Armenian side. Оf course, we are not going neither to criticize, nor even more to condemn him for accepting the citizenship of Turkey, this is his right and his choice. But – hands off from Artsakh! Now there is nothing to prevent the announcement of the new Turkish-speaking persona non grata in the RA and NKR in the preparation of the report. Let Walter go to Baku to get a “permission” to enter Artsakh and sit there in anticipation of the possibility of entry from the Azerbaijani side. He will have plenty of time – he can fully realize his cherished dream and finally visit his new citizenship in the country. Maybe even visit Western Armenia, in order to understand the essence and origins of the issue of Artsakh.
And then, pouring out his nonsense, he returns and prepares his report, under which will be the signature of the citizen of Turkey with all the consequences that follow this. How this work of the PACE will be perceived is already a matter of objectiveness, conscience and authority of the deputies of the assembly.
golosarmenii.am
PACE did not adopt resolution of Robert Walter on the occupied territories of Azerbaijan
Today’s session of the PACE in Strasbourg rejected the resolution on escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh – there are 66 votes for the text, 70 against, 45 abstain. MPs rejected a resolution of the British MP Robert Walter, entitled: “The escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan.”
Due to the fact that Walter is no longer a deputy, the document presented Norwegian MP Mogens Jensen, who recalled that the Armenian side did not allow him to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. The document was rejected by a number of deputies from France, Hungary, Sweden and Germany. As an argument against was noted one-sidedness of the mentioned document, violation of democracy in Azerbaijan and the need to keep a balance.
The report called for the “withdrawal of Armenian armed forces and other irregular forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan, urged the governments of both countries to refrain from using military force, called on the OSCE to establish an international peacekeeping force to maintain security in Nagorno-Karabakh, to ensure the safe return of displaced persons and the establishment of a mechanism to investigate violations of the ceasefire
contact.az
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