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BAKU ACCUSES SARKSYAN OF BEING WARMONGER
Today's Zaman
July 22 2011
Turkey
The Armenian government is trying to incite a war with Azerbaijan to
avoid internal political and economic problems, a senior Azerbaijani
diplomat in Baku has said. Araz Azimov, the deputy foreign minister
of Azerbaijan, told a group of Turkish reporters on Friday that the
government in Yerevan is looking to start an armed conflict with
Azerbaijan in order to consolidate its power at home and distract
attention away from increasingly unbearable economic hardship.
"[Armenian President Serzh] Sarksyan is under tremendous pressure from
the opposition in his country. The economy is performing terribly. The
diaspora is not happy with him. If he succeeds in provoking a conflict
with us, he will secure aid from abroad and crush the opposition inside
as people will gather around his cause," he explained. The incidents
along the cease-fire line should be interpreted with this in mind,
Azimov underlined.
Just last week, a 13-year-old girl was killed by a toy with a
built-in explosive that had allegedly been floated down the river by
an Armenian. The girl's mother was seriously injured as well. Similar
incidents have happened in the past, Azimov said, all aimed to cause
unrest amongst the people in Azerbaijan hoping that there would be
widespread clashes along the disputed borders.
An Azerbaijani diplomat warned, however, that the repercussions of
a new war would have dire consequences for Armenia. "We are prepared
for any eventualities and have beefed up our army," he said, adding
that the army is more than capable of preventing any aggression from
Armenia. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that during Armed
Forces Day celebrations last month, "Azerbaijan fulfilled the task
that I set, which was that Azerbaijan's military expenditure must
exceed the entire state budget of Armenia," noting that defense
spending in the oil-rich country had reached $3.3 billion this year.
When asked what the game plan was for Azerbaijan if the crisis turned
into war, the veteran diplomat said, "Then everything will change."
Stating that he himself had experienced war when the Soviets invaded
Afghanistan, Azimov said Azerbaijani forces would likely conduct
a mop-up operation in the Azerbaijani territories currently under
illegal Armenian occupation.
"International law allows us to send an army to fight anti-terror
operations on our own lands. You can say that the Armenian forces
are behaving like a terrorist group, killing innocent people on
Azerbaijani soil," he explained. He vowed that Azerbaijani forces
would sweep any elements of terror away from its own territory.
Armenia is buying time Azimov has been closely involved throughout
the 18 years of negotiations with Armenia under the so called Minsk
process created by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE).
"We had ups and downs during that period. But it has become
increasingly clear that Yerevan is not interested in finding a solution
to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue at all. Sarksyan has backtracked from
earlier compromises we had brokered with Armenia especially during
the 2004-2007 period. Last year, he rejected the Madrid II principles
proposed by the Minsk group in Athens in 2009. He refused to discuss
the details of the Lacin corridor linking Azerbaijan to the autonomous
Nakhchivan Republic via Armenian territory. Now in a reversal from
his predecessor's position, Sarksyan is saying internally displaced
Azerbaijanis can not return to their homes before the final status
of Karabakh is finalized," Azimov explained.
As for the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Azerbaijani diplomat
expressed that there might be different formulas for the internal
self-determination or self-governance within the territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan. "But we need to withdraw forces from this region, allow
displaced people to return to their homes and invest in the economy.
Once we create the right conditions on the ground, we will agree
to whatever decision the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh make in the
referendum" he said.
The frustrated diplomat warned that Azerbaijan's patience is wearing
thin towards the protracted negotiations that have no end in sight.
"There is nothing concrete on the table," he lamented. Stressing that
both countries need to move beyond discussing the basic principles
of an action pan on the ground, the Azerbaijani diplomat noted there
should be a "deadline" for the negotiations.
"We have discussed principles for so long but it has not produced
any result. Now we need to talk about the substance," he said, adding
that the parties should come to an agreement on that within a year.
Lambasting Russia and Iran Deputy Foreign Minister Azimov did not hide
his strong disapproval of Russian and Iranian assistance to Armenia,
two countries that have provided a lifeline to Armenia's beleaguered
economy. "Russia has control of 70 percent of the Armenian economy. The
border has been protected by Russian soldiers. They provide assistance
to Armenian forces as well," he said.
As for the Iran, Azimov said the Azerbaijani government does not
approve the cozy relations Iran has established with its arch-enemy,
Armenia. "We have told them this on many occasions. Iran has
over 40 agreements with Armenia and providing gas, oil and other
critical supplies to the country. They do that despite the betrayal of
Armenia over the Iranian initiative back in 1992," he said. Azimov was
referring to the May 1992 meeting in Tehran during which both Armenian
and Azerbaijani leaders signed a memorandum of understanding for the
cessation of hostilities as proposed by the Iranian leadership at the
time. Right after that, Armenia attacked more Azerbaijani territory,
breaking the agreement.
"If Iran closes its border with Armenia just like Turkey does, Yerevan
may be pushed back to a position to end the occupation of Azerbaijani
territory," he said. Azimov hinted that the relations with the US
and Israel, the pipeline politics and problems in the Caspian energy
resources may have a role to play in Iran's involvement with Armenia.
"Iran wants to show that it is a regional power to be reckoned with.
But we are not comfortable with their policy vis-a-vis Armenia,"
he noted.
From: Baghdasarian
Today's Zaman
July 22 2011
Turkey
The Armenian government is trying to incite a war with Azerbaijan to
avoid internal political and economic problems, a senior Azerbaijani
diplomat in Baku has said. Araz Azimov, the deputy foreign minister
of Azerbaijan, told a group of Turkish reporters on Friday that the
government in Yerevan is looking to start an armed conflict with
Azerbaijan in order to consolidate its power at home and distract
attention away from increasingly unbearable economic hardship.
"[Armenian President Serzh] Sarksyan is under tremendous pressure from
the opposition in his country. The economy is performing terribly. The
diaspora is not happy with him. If he succeeds in provoking a conflict
with us, he will secure aid from abroad and crush the opposition inside
as people will gather around his cause," he explained. The incidents
along the cease-fire line should be interpreted with this in mind,
Azimov underlined.
Just last week, a 13-year-old girl was killed by a toy with a
built-in explosive that had allegedly been floated down the river by
an Armenian. The girl's mother was seriously injured as well. Similar
incidents have happened in the past, Azimov said, all aimed to cause
unrest amongst the people in Azerbaijan hoping that there would be
widespread clashes along the disputed borders.
An Azerbaijani diplomat warned, however, that the repercussions of
a new war would have dire consequences for Armenia. "We are prepared
for any eventualities and have beefed up our army," he said, adding
that the army is more than capable of preventing any aggression from
Armenia. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that during Armed
Forces Day celebrations last month, "Azerbaijan fulfilled the task
that I set, which was that Azerbaijan's military expenditure must
exceed the entire state budget of Armenia," noting that defense
spending in the oil-rich country had reached $3.3 billion this year.
When asked what the game plan was for Azerbaijan if the crisis turned
into war, the veteran diplomat said, "Then everything will change."
Stating that he himself had experienced war when the Soviets invaded
Afghanistan, Azimov said Azerbaijani forces would likely conduct
a mop-up operation in the Azerbaijani territories currently under
illegal Armenian occupation.
"International law allows us to send an army to fight anti-terror
operations on our own lands. You can say that the Armenian forces
are behaving like a terrorist group, killing innocent people on
Azerbaijani soil," he explained. He vowed that Azerbaijani forces
would sweep any elements of terror away from its own territory.
Armenia is buying time Azimov has been closely involved throughout
the 18 years of negotiations with Armenia under the so called Minsk
process created by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE).
"We had ups and downs during that period. But it has become
increasingly clear that Yerevan is not interested in finding a solution
to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue at all. Sarksyan has backtracked from
earlier compromises we had brokered with Armenia especially during
the 2004-2007 period. Last year, he rejected the Madrid II principles
proposed by the Minsk group in Athens in 2009. He refused to discuss
the details of the Lacin corridor linking Azerbaijan to the autonomous
Nakhchivan Republic via Armenian territory. Now in a reversal from
his predecessor's position, Sarksyan is saying internally displaced
Azerbaijanis can not return to their homes before the final status
of Karabakh is finalized," Azimov explained.
As for the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Azerbaijani diplomat
expressed that there might be different formulas for the internal
self-determination or self-governance within the territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan. "But we need to withdraw forces from this region, allow
displaced people to return to their homes and invest in the economy.
Once we create the right conditions on the ground, we will agree
to whatever decision the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh make in the
referendum" he said.
The frustrated diplomat warned that Azerbaijan's patience is wearing
thin towards the protracted negotiations that have no end in sight.
"There is nothing concrete on the table," he lamented. Stressing that
both countries need to move beyond discussing the basic principles
of an action pan on the ground, the Azerbaijani diplomat noted there
should be a "deadline" for the negotiations.
"We have discussed principles for so long but it has not produced
any result. Now we need to talk about the substance," he said, adding
that the parties should come to an agreement on that within a year.
Lambasting Russia and Iran Deputy Foreign Minister Azimov did not hide
his strong disapproval of Russian and Iranian assistance to Armenia,
two countries that have provided a lifeline to Armenia's beleaguered
economy. "Russia has control of 70 percent of the Armenian economy. The
border has been protected by Russian soldiers. They provide assistance
to Armenian forces as well," he said.
As for the Iran, Azimov said the Azerbaijani government does not
approve the cozy relations Iran has established with its arch-enemy,
Armenia. "We have told them this on many occasions. Iran has
over 40 agreements with Armenia and providing gas, oil and other
critical supplies to the country. They do that despite the betrayal of
Armenia over the Iranian initiative back in 1992," he said. Azimov was
referring to the May 1992 meeting in Tehran during which both Armenian
and Azerbaijani leaders signed a memorandum of understanding for the
cessation of hostilities as proposed by the Iranian leadership at the
time. Right after that, Armenia attacked more Azerbaijani territory,
breaking the agreement.
"If Iran closes its border with Armenia just like Turkey does, Yerevan
may be pushed back to a position to end the occupation of Azerbaijani
territory," he said. Azimov hinted that the relations with the US
and Israel, the pipeline politics and problems in the Caspian energy
resources may have a role to play in Iran's involvement with Armenia.
"Iran wants to show that it is a regional power to be reckoned with.
But we are not comfortable with their policy vis-a-vis Armenia,"
he noted.
From: Baghdasarian