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HULIQ.com
March 9 2012
Azerbaijan reverses position against Armenia 9 days after "enemy" statement
Just nine days after making hostile remarks against Armenia, neighbor
Azerbaijan releases a statement, which could be seen as a reversal and
hope that Armenia may revise its decision on Eurovision 2012
participation in Baku.
Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia are tense over the right of
self-determination of Nagorno Karabakh, a de facto Republic with
Armenian majority that wants to live independent of Azerbaijan. The
case is similar to Kosovo and Southern Sudan, which recently gained
their independence with international backing.
Last year Azeri representatives won the Eurovision song contest and
according to the rules this year the Eurovision 2012 will be held in
Baku. Despite tense relations the Armenian side made an official
application in line with its policy of supporting people contacts and
public diplomacy. The presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia
released a joint statement at their latest meeting in Sochi aimed to
achive just that: confidence consolidation between the two nations.
Yet, according to media sources, such as BBC and Radio Liberty the
Armenian side boycotted its participation in Eurovision because of
Azerbaijan's president's anti Armenian remark on March 1 that "the
Armenians of the world" are his nation's main enemy. After this remark
Armenian withdrew its application and the world media noticed it.
Today, there seems to be a reversal on the Azeri side. Elman
Abdullayev, the spokesman of the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan,
released a statement to News.Az stating "we treat the Armenians
normally enough and don't have towards them ... hostile attitude."
News.az continues that "according to the spokesman, Armenians living
in Azerbaijan are provided with all conditions and even the Armenian
church located in the centre of Baku was restored recently."
Armenian media has picked up the statement has called it a
contradiction by Azeri MFA to its president's remark. "Azerbaijan's
MFA Contradicts Ilham Aliyev," writes one of the leading onlines
newspapers in Armenia 1in.am.
Overall Armenia has a point. You can't participate and sing in a
country where the president, according to media reports, calls the
entire nation Azerbaijan's "main enemy." Before that statement the
Armenians had submitted an application to participate in Baku and it
has been widely supported in the country.
Can't stay enemies forever
At this point perhaps it would help the case if Azerbaijan sent extra
reassurances that despite disagreement over Karabakh the two nations
are not enemies. Azerbaijan is the host country, it can do this and
would be a great way to demonstrate a warm Caucasian hospitality. The
more Armenian and Azeri artists travel to each other's country the
better for building trust and restoring confidence. The public
diplomacy will build that base, that support upon which the three
sides can strike a deal and reach an agreement on Karabakh. This view
was also stated and supported by EU foreign ministers on their
Conclusions on South Caucasus. Promoting trade relations, facilitating
travel and starting of transformative and approximation work is key to
the conflict's final resolution.
Few weeks ago there was a meeting held in Moscow between Armenian,
Azeri and Russian intelligentsia representatives. The Editor of one of
Armenia's leading newspapers Aravot, Aram Abrahamyan, who participated
in that meeting wrote a great editorial titled "Let's Not Leave It to
the Next Generation."
Abrahamyan writes that at the meeting the representatives of the three
nations were listening to a poem sited by a leading Russian poet. " I
thought that it was interesting, pleasant for Armenians and
Azerbaijanis of my generation (certainly, some layer), because we read
the Youth magazine in our childhood, the editor of which was Dementyev
for many years, because we were citizens of a big country and at the
end of the day we speak the language, in which the poet writes. And
our children who have grown up in two independent countries obviously
meet none of those conditions. Some things unite Azerbaijani
intellectual and me and we can talk on the cultural foundation that
was laid in our school and college days. If the alienation and enmity
between our peoples are retained, I cannot imagine how, on what
foundation our children will communicate. That is why I think that it
is not right to hand our conflict over to the next generation -
everything will be much harder for them."
At the end of the day, how nice would it be if the President of
Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev called the president of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan
and said something like - despite everything we would be glad and
would love to see the Armenian representative singing in Baku. Now
that could be a start of a new chapter between the two nations.
http://www.huliq.com/1/azerbaijan-reverses-position-against-armenia-9-days-after-enemy-statement-2012
From: A. Papazian
March 9 2012
Azerbaijan reverses position against Armenia 9 days after "enemy" statement
Just nine days after making hostile remarks against Armenia, neighbor
Azerbaijan releases a statement, which could be seen as a reversal and
hope that Armenia may revise its decision on Eurovision 2012
participation in Baku.
Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia are tense over the right of
self-determination of Nagorno Karabakh, a de facto Republic with
Armenian majority that wants to live independent of Azerbaijan. The
case is similar to Kosovo and Southern Sudan, which recently gained
their independence with international backing.
Last year Azeri representatives won the Eurovision song contest and
according to the rules this year the Eurovision 2012 will be held in
Baku. Despite tense relations the Armenian side made an official
application in line with its policy of supporting people contacts and
public diplomacy. The presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia
released a joint statement at their latest meeting in Sochi aimed to
achive just that: confidence consolidation between the two nations.
Yet, according to media sources, such as BBC and Radio Liberty the
Armenian side boycotted its participation in Eurovision because of
Azerbaijan's president's anti Armenian remark on March 1 that "the
Armenians of the world" are his nation's main enemy. After this remark
Armenian withdrew its application and the world media noticed it.
Today, there seems to be a reversal on the Azeri side. Elman
Abdullayev, the spokesman of the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan,
released a statement to News.Az stating "we treat the Armenians
normally enough and don't have towards them ... hostile attitude."
News.az continues that "according to the spokesman, Armenians living
in Azerbaijan are provided with all conditions and even the Armenian
church located in the centre of Baku was restored recently."
Armenian media has picked up the statement has called it a
contradiction by Azeri MFA to its president's remark. "Azerbaijan's
MFA Contradicts Ilham Aliyev," writes one of the leading onlines
newspapers in Armenia 1in.am.
Overall Armenia has a point. You can't participate and sing in a
country where the president, according to media reports, calls the
entire nation Azerbaijan's "main enemy." Before that statement the
Armenians had submitted an application to participate in Baku and it
has been widely supported in the country.
Can't stay enemies forever
At this point perhaps it would help the case if Azerbaijan sent extra
reassurances that despite disagreement over Karabakh the two nations
are not enemies. Azerbaijan is the host country, it can do this and
would be a great way to demonstrate a warm Caucasian hospitality. The
more Armenian and Azeri artists travel to each other's country the
better for building trust and restoring confidence. The public
diplomacy will build that base, that support upon which the three
sides can strike a deal and reach an agreement on Karabakh. This view
was also stated and supported by EU foreign ministers on their
Conclusions on South Caucasus. Promoting trade relations, facilitating
travel and starting of transformative and approximation work is key to
the conflict's final resolution.
Few weeks ago there was a meeting held in Moscow between Armenian,
Azeri and Russian intelligentsia representatives. The Editor of one of
Armenia's leading newspapers Aravot, Aram Abrahamyan, who participated
in that meeting wrote a great editorial titled "Let's Not Leave It to
the Next Generation."
Abrahamyan writes that at the meeting the representatives of the three
nations were listening to a poem sited by a leading Russian poet. " I
thought that it was interesting, pleasant for Armenians and
Azerbaijanis of my generation (certainly, some layer), because we read
the Youth magazine in our childhood, the editor of which was Dementyev
for many years, because we were citizens of a big country and at the
end of the day we speak the language, in which the poet writes. And
our children who have grown up in two independent countries obviously
meet none of those conditions. Some things unite Azerbaijani
intellectual and me and we can talk on the cultural foundation that
was laid in our school and college days. If the alienation and enmity
between our peoples are retained, I cannot imagine how, on what
foundation our children will communicate. That is why I think that it
is not right to hand our conflict over to the next generation -
everything will be much harder for them."
At the end of the day, how nice would it be if the President of
Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev called the president of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan
and said something like - despite everything we would be glad and
would love to see the Armenian representative singing in Baku. Now
that could be a start of a new chapter between the two nations.
http://www.huliq.com/1/azerbaijan-reverses-position-against-armenia-9-days-after-enemy-statement-2012
From: A. Papazian