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SAMED SEIDOV: AZERBAIJAN WANTS TO WORK AT PACE WITH DE FACTO AUTHORITIES OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH
by Oksana Musaelyan
arminfo
Wednesday, June 27, 13:46
ArmInfo's interview with the head of the Azerbaijani delegation to
PACE Samad Seidov
The PACE President is against the revival of the ad hoc committee on
Nagorno-Karabakh. Considering the past experience - when the Turkish
PACE President showed an opportunist approach towards this problem -
it seems quite easy to predict the future of this structure. What
are you going to do in this situation?
We believe that the Nagorno-Karabakh problem should be considered
in the framework of the Council of Europe, and all attempts to debar
the CE from this process are not right: we can't leave everything to
the discretion of the OSCE Minsk Group. Nobody objects to the MG's
mediating the peace process. Simply, there are several negotiating
formats. Some points need coordination by the presidents, but there
are also problems requiring confidence building measures and meetings
among public representatives and MPs. This is what we advocate.
Azerbaijan has never wanted to work with Nagorno-Karabakh and has
never regarded it as a full party to the conflict...
Who says we don't want? When speaking at PACE yesterday, I said that
Nagorno-Karabakh representatives might come to the CE if they didn't
want to meet in Azerbaijan or anywhere else. We are ready to directly
contact with them under the aegis of the CE, to organize meetings among
Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijani and Armenian representatives... so we
could build some bridges.
Is this your personal position or the position of your government?
No, it is Azerbaijan's official position. We are interested
in arranging meetings between Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians and
Nagorno-Karabakh Azerbaijanis in any format - be it here or in the
framework of the Minsk Group.
And what about the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh?
The Azerbaijanis of Nagorno-Karabakh must certainly meet with the
Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians.
I mean the de facto authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh...
I don't know what authorities they have.
President Bako Sahakyan...
Bako Sahakyan is a representative of the Armenian community of
Nagorno-Karabakh. And representatives of that community must for
sure meet with representatives of the Azerbaijani community. This is
exactly what we advocate.
You are making a sensational statement now, aren't you?
No.
I mean, Azerbaijan has always been against direct meetings with the
de facto authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh.
This is not a sensational statement, this is Azerbaijan's position,
and you can read it in Resolution 1416, in the paragraph about the
need of meetings between the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of
Nagorno-Karabakh... One of our key requirements is that they should not
just meet but should work on a constant basis. I am always surprised
to hear the Armenians say that we do not want to meet with them. On
the contrary, we want to meet, while our Armenian friends don't.
What do you think about the charges of European Stability Initiative
that the Azerbaijani delegates to PACE bribe their European "friends"
with caviar so as to gain their favor? The term "caviar diplomacy"
has become widespread already...
You mean our Bulgarian friend? Yes, you mean that caviar report, aren't
you? It is not news, is it? There are thousands of such reports. You
saw - didn't you? - what a lashing of Azerbaijan they organized all
over Europe.
Do you distribute caviar here or not?
The biggest caviar producers here are Iran and Russia, we have almost
no caviar left in Azerbaijan...
by Oksana Musaelyan
arminfo
Wednesday, June 27, 13:46
ArmInfo's interview with the head of the Azerbaijani delegation to
PACE Samad Seidov
The PACE President is against the revival of the ad hoc committee on
Nagorno-Karabakh. Considering the past experience - when the Turkish
PACE President showed an opportunist approach towards this problem -
it seems quite easy to predict the future of this structure. What
are you going to do in this situation?
We believe that the Nagorno-Karabakh problem should be considered
in the framework of the Council of Europe, and all attempts to debar
the CE from this process are not right: we can't leave everything to
the discretion of the OSCE Minsk Group. Nobody objects to the MG's
mediating the peace process. Simply, there are several negotiating
formats. Some points need coordination by the presidents, but there
are also problems requiring confidence building measures and meetings
among public representatives and MPs. This is what we advocate.
Azerbaijan has never wanted to work with Nagorno-Karabakh and has
never regarded it as a full party to the conflict...
Who says we don't want? When speaking at PACE yesterday, I said that
Nagorno-Karabakh representatives might come to the CE if they didn't
want to meet in Azerbaijan or anywhere else. We are ready to directly
contact with them under the aegis of the CE, to organize meetings among
Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijani and Armenian representatives... so we
could build some bridges.
Is this your personal position or the position of your government?
No, it is Azerbaijan's official position. We are interested
in arranging meetings between Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians and
Nagorno-Karabakh Azerbaijanis in any format - be it here or in the
framework of the Minsk Group.
And what about the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh?
The Azerbaijanis of Nagorno-Karabakh must certainly meet with the
Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians.
I mean the de facto authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh...
I don't know what authorities they have.
President Bako Sahakyan...
Bako Sahakyan is a representative of the Armenian community of
Nagorno-Karabakh. And representatives of that community must for
sure meet with representatives of the Azerbaijani community. This is
exactly what we advocate.
You are making a sensational statement now, aren't you?
No.
I mean, Azerbaijan has always been against direct meetings with the
de facto authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh.
This is not a sensational statement, this is Azerbaijan's position,
and you can read it in Resolution 1416, in the paragraph about the
need of meetings between the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of
Nagorno-Karabakh... One of our key requirements is that they should not
just meet but should work on a constant basis. I am always surprised
to hear the Armenians say that we do not want to meet with them. On
the contrary, we want to meet, while our Armenian friends don't.
What do you think about the charges of European Stability Initiative
that the Azerbaijani delegates to PACE bribe their European "friends"
with caviar so as to gain their favor? The term "caviar diplomacy"
has become widespread already...
You mean our Bulgarian friend? Yes, you mean that caviar report, aren't
you? It is not news, is it? There are thousands of such reports. You
saw - didn't you? - what a lashing of Azerbaijan they organized all
over Europe.
Do you distribute caviar here or not?
The biggest caviar producers here are Iran and Russia, we have almost
no caviar left in Azerbaijan...