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AZERBAIJANI OFFICIAL SAYS SARKISIAN STATEMENTS 'NONSENSICAL'
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
Sept 1 2011
BAKU -- A top adviser to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev says recent
statements by Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian about the disputed
Nagorno-Karabakh territory are "nonsensical" and "unpresidential,"
RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports.
Novruz Mammedov, head of the Foreign Affairs Department in Aliyev's
administration, told RFE/RL in an exclusive interview on August 31
that Sarkisian's attempt to compare the situation in the breakaway
Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh to the recognition of
South Sudan as the world's newest country "does not correspond to
international law or a realistic understanding of the political
situation."
Sarkisian said at an annual meeting of Armenian ambassadors in Yerevan
on August 30 that "this year we have witnessed South Sudan obtain
independence after decades of struggle, making another successful
precedent of self-determination in world history."
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan on July 9 in a process
determined by the signing of a peace agreement and a referendum on
statehood that was supported by the United Nations.
Sarkisian added that the "same solution" for Karabakh was "inevitable,
although today I cannot speak of any softening of Azerbaijan's position
in the negotiation process."
Mammedov said that "on one side Sarkisian is conducting negotiations,
but on the other he is making this kind of nonsensical statement.
Lately he has been making a lot of unpresidential statements. This
is his tragedy and sooner or later Sarkisian will get an adequate
response to his behavior."
Mammedov also responded to Sarkisian's statement that in case of a
military conflict over Karabakh, Armenia would "not hesitate to force
the enemy to ask for peace."
"This is Armenia's biggest worry," Mammedov said. "Because [the
Armenians] know sooner or later Azerbaijan will get its territory
back. Under the current geopolitical conditions Armenia is not going
to be able to preserve its [military] advantage over the long term."
Mammedov also rejected Yerevan's claim, reiterated by Sarkisian on
August 30, that Azerbaijan is blocking the negotiation process over
Karabakh. He said such talk is "a product of Armenian propoganda."
"Everybody can see that Azerbaijan is engaged in negotiations with the
aim of liberating its territories," Mammedov said. "Armenia is using
its diaspora and some other supporters to put the blame on Azerbaijan.
What can Azerbaijan do [against that]?"
Sarkisian said on August 30 that "despite Azerbaijan's destructive
position, Armenia will continue its efforts toward an exclusively
peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that would comply
with international law and be based on principles recognized by the
United Nations."
He also said Armenia hoped to see a "a shift" in Turkey's approach to
relations with Yerevan and its stance on Karabakh after the upcoming
parliamentary elections in Turkey.
But he added, "To be honest, the last two months have not given any
reason for optimism."
Armenian forces fought a bloody war with Azerbaijan from 1991-94 for
control over Nagorno-Karabakh, which had a mainly ethnic Armenian
population. Armenian forces also control large Azerbaijani territories
adjoining Karabakh.
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
Sept 1 2011
BAKU -- A top adviser to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev says recent
statements by Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian about the disputed
Nagorno-Karabakh territory are "nonsensical" and "unpresidential,"
RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports.
Novruz Mammedov, head of the Foreign Affairs Department in Aliyev's
administration, told RFE/RL in an exclusive interview on August 31
that Sarkisian's attempt to compare the situation in the breakaway
Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh to the recognition of
South Sudan as the world's newest country "does not correspond to
international law or a realistic understanding of the political
situation."
Sarkisian said at an annual meeting of Armenian ambassadors in Yerevan
on August 30 that "this year we have witnessed South Sudan obtain
independence after decades of struggle, making another successful
precedent of self-determination in world history."
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan on July 9 in a process
determined by the signing of a peace agreement and a referendum on
statehood that was supported by the United Nations.
Sarkisian added that the "same solution" for Karabakh was "inevitable,
although today I cannot speak of any softening of Azerbaijan's position
in the negotiation process."
Mammedov said that "on one side Sarkisian is conducting negotiations,
but on the other he is making this kind of nonsensical statement.
Lately he has been making a lot of unpresidential statements. This
is his tragedy and sooner or later Sarkisian will get an adequate
response to his behavior."
Mammedov also responded to Sarkisian's statement that in case of a
military conflict over Karabakh, Armenia would "not hesitate to force
the enemy to ask for peace."
"This is Armenia's biggest worry," Mammedov said. "Because [the
Armenians] know sooner or later Azerbaijan will get its territory
back. Under the current geopolitical conditions Armenia is not going
to be able to preserve its [military] advantage over the long term."
Mammedov also rejected Yerevan's claim, reiterated by Sarkisian on
August 30, that Azerbaijan is blocking the negotiation process over
Karabakh. He said such talk is "a product of Armenian propoganda."
"Everybody can see that Azerbaijan is engaged in negotiations with the
aim of liberating its territories," Mammedov said. "Armenia is using
its diaspora and some other supporters to put the blame on Azerbaijan.
What can Azerbaijan do [against that]?"
Sarkisian said on August 30 that "despite Azerbaijan's destructive
position, Armenia will continue its efforts toward an exclusively
peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that would comply
with international law and be based on principles recognized by the
United Nations."
He also said Armenia hoped to see a "a shift" in Turkey's approach to
relations with Yerevan and its stance on Karabakh after the upcoming
parliamentary elections in Turkey.
But he added, "To be honest, the last two months have not given any
reason for optimism."
Armenian forces fought a bloody war with Azerbaijan from 1991-94 for
control over Nagorno-Karabakh, which had a mainly ethnic Armenian
population. Armenian forces also control large Azerbaijani territories
adjoining Karabakh.