AZERBAIJAN IS NOT ISRAEL'S "SECRET STAGING GROUND", EMBASSY SAYS
Trend
April 2 2012
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani embassy in Washington has strongly denied the report by
Foreign Policy magazine that Azerbaijan had allegedly provided Israel
with its airfields near the border with Iran.
"I was most surprised to read a very provocative and unsubstantiated
article by Mark Perry in your publication ("Israel's Secret Staging
Ground"). The author arrives at wide ranging allegations based on
unnamed sources and rather convoluted commentary. Clearly upset about
Azerbaijan's friendly relations with Israel, Perry, for some reason,
equates a historic friendship between the Azerbaijani and Jewish
people into preparing for a war against Iran", Nargiz Gurbanova,
a counselor at Azerbaijan's embassy in Washington, said Monday in an
article in the Foreign Policy.
According to her, "this unreasonable accusation makes no sense in terms
of geography -- Azerbaijan doesn't border Israel and contradicts the
clearly stated policy of Azerbaijan not to allow use of its territory
against any neighbour".
"In fact, Azerbaijan's commitment to promoting regional peace has been
demonstrated by its involvement in the ongoing talks with Armenia for
the last two decades in spite of the latter's illegal occupation of
the internationally recognized Azerbaijani lands. Perry's article is
an interesting piece of fiction. Whether it was driven by a special
political agenda or vivid imagination, your publication seems as an
odd choice for such speculative writing", Gurbanova pointed out.
Azerbaijani Defence Ministry earlier denied the report. A spokesman
for the Ministry Teymur Abdullayev said that the article was baseless
and called it "an invention not corresponding to reality".
Earlier, Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Social and Political
Department Chief Ali Hasanov told media that Azerbaijan's territory
will never be used for any actions against Iran.
Trend
April 2 2012
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani embassy in Washington has strongly denied the report by
Foreign Policy magazine that Azerbaijan had allegedly provided Israel
with its airfields near the border with Iran.
"I was most surprised to read a very provocative and unsubstantiated
article by Mark Perry in your publication ("Israel's Secret Staging
Ground"). The author arrives at wide ranging allegations based on
unnamed sources and rather convoluted commentary. Clearly upset about
Azerbaijan's friendly relations with Israel, Perry, for some reason,
equates a historic friendship between the Azerbaijani and Jewish
people into preparing for a war against Iran", Nargiz Gurbanova,
a counselor at Azerbaijan's embassy in Washington, said Monday in an
article in the Foreign Policy.
According to her, "this unreasonable accusation makes no sense in terms
of geography -- Azerbaijan doesn't border Israel and contradicts the
clearly stated policy of Azerbaijan not to allow use of its territory
against any neighbour".
"In fact, Azerbaijan's commitment to promoting regional peace has been
demonstrated by its involvement in the ongoing talks with Armenia for
the last two decades in spite of the latter's illegal occupation of
the internationally recognized Azerbaijani lands. Perry's article is
an interesting piece of fiction. Whether it was driven by a special
political agenda or vivid imagination, your publication seems as an
odd choice for such speculative writing", Gurbanova pointed out.
Azerbaijani Defence Ministry earlier denied the report. A spokesman
for the Ministry Teymur Abdullayev said that the article was baseless
and called it "an invention not corresponding to reality".
Earlier, Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Social and Political
Department Chief Ali Hasanov told media that Azerbaijan's territory
will never be used for any actions against Iran.