The Council of Europe does not make compromises with...

The Council of Europe does not make compromises with anyone on the abolition of the death penalty, the head of the Council of Europe's monitoring group, Pietro Ercole Ago, said at a press conference in Yerevan.
Ago said the abolition of the death penalty should be applicable without exceptions, including the terrorists who shot dead Armenian MPs and government officials in October 1999. The European Convention's Protocol 13, opened for signing at a recent CE session in Vilnius, rules out the death penalty even during hostilities, Ago said.
Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Armen Martirosyan said that the death penalty issue would be resolved through the adoption of a new criminal code, where the death penalty would be replaced by life imprisonment. As for the 13th protocol, the deputy foreign minister said that its signing was not obligatory for Armenia and some other countries.
Armenia considers the signing of the protocol to be premature in view of the geopolitical situation in the region, the deputy foreign minister said.