BAKU
News stories written on demand to serve certain political interests damage bilateral relations, an Azerbaijani official said Monday.
"The news is sometimes reported quite differently by major news agencies around the world. We also see unverified stories which are created on demand in order to serve certain political interests. This strikes a blow to bilateral relations," said Ali Hasanov, National Adviser to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of Department on Social and Political Issues.
The presidential aide's comments came at a meeting with members of the News Agencies World Council in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku.
"It is natural for each agency to have its own political leaning. But it is essential to deliver news in an impartial and accurate manner. Only then can we reach a general agreement based on sound thinking," he said.
Hasanov said that Baku would host the 5th News Agencies World Congress in 2016, with Azerbaijan taking over the presidency of the NAWC.
"This is a preparatory meeting for the congress next year," said Aslan Aslanov, Director General of Azerbaijan's national news agency, AzerTAc.
Aslanov revealed the agenda of the preparatory meeting, saying they would be setting a date for the congress, as well as defining its composition, participants, keynote speakers, and main topics.
Anadolu Agency Marketing and Sales Director Nedim Kaya, and Anadolu Agency Foreign Relations Director Ercan Gocer were among the participants of the meeting, which was attended by the heads of major news agencies including the President of Saudi Press Agency, Abdullah Bin Fahd Al-Hussein, Director General of Russia's ITAR-TASS, Sergey Mikhaylov, and Chief Executive of the London-based Press Association, Clive Marshall.
