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'The stronger Azerbaijan is, the more it will reckon'
Sat 01 September 2012 05:23 GMT | 6:23 Local Time
Avigdor Eskin
News.Az interviews Avigdor Eskin, Israeli political scientist.
In your opinion, does the recent visit of Israeli Minister of
Information and Diaspora Yuli Edelstein to Yerevan mean Israeli
government's intention to review relations with Armenia in favor of
their activation? As far as I know, until recently, Israeli officials
did not go to Yerevan at such a high level.
There are diplomatic relations between Israel and Armenia. Jerusalem
is naturally interested in improving relations with Armenia and the
Armenian people as a whole. However, this is not an easy task in the
current environment, as Armenia is a close ally of Iran, and Armenian
propaganda blames the Jews and Zionists in organizing mass killings of
Armenians in 1915 in Turkey.
Does the statement of Edelstein on recognition of the "Armenian
genocide" reflect the position of the country's leadership?
Edelstein's statement was misinterpreted. Even Aznavour has already
agreed that the term "genocide" is not required even for the Armenian
side. And our minister had in mind that in Israel there are no people
who would deny the mass murder and deportation of the Armenian
population in Turkey in 1915.
I think myself that the term "genocide" in this case is questionable,
since the tragic events were provoked by the Armenian rebellion. In
addition, the Armenian propaganda puts unrealistic number of victims,
and systematically is engaged in accusation of the Jews for those
terrible events. I assure you that Minister Edelstein is not ready to
recognize the Armenian version of the events of 1915 and thus agree
with their blood libel against Jews.
We would like to know your opinion about another issue, concerning
Azerbaijan directly Member of the US Congress Dana Rohrabacher has
addressed a letter to US Secretary General Hillary Clinton, in which
he suggests to offer support to the Azerbaijani population of the
northwest province of Iran in the issue of gaining independence. The
necessity to defend the rights of Iranian Azerbaijanis was a topic of
discussion earlier in Washing, but such a radical proposal is voiced
for the first time. Is this symbolic or does it reflect the opinion of
only one congressman?
Dana Rohrabacher is a very influential and respected politician. His
proposal is distinguished with boldness. The persecution of Azeris in
Iran and suppression of their principal rights concerns people with
good will, who are aware of the situation. Azerbaijanis of Iran should
be given the right to decide whether they want to live under the yoke
of possessed Islamists or join Azerbaijan. No one should meddle in the
domestic affairs of Iran. But Azeris have the right to decide their
destiny on their own, and it's necessary to hold a referendum on how
they want to form their destiny further.
By the way, in his letter Rohrabacher said: "It will be useful if the
United States would assist the military cooperation between Azerbaijan
and Israel, as Iranian authorities are both their and our enemies."
What do you think about the attempt to link the Azerbaijani-Israeli
cooperation with the proposal to tear off a significant part of the
country from Iran in order to weaken the regime in Tehran?
Our goal should be not weakening Tehran, but improving the living
conditions of Azerbaijanis in Iran. As for the Israeli-Azerbaijani
cooperation, thanks to it Azerbaijan may become in the next decade the
strongest military power in the region. This will not only provide
security to Azerbaijan, but also help to effectively defend the rights
of oppressed Azeris in Iran.
Would not disclosure of this story, widely replicated by Iranian and
Armenian media, lead to further deterioration of relations between
Baku and Tehran? And what are the prospects of this relationship at
all, given that the Azerbaijani president did not go to the
Non-Aligned Summit in Tehran, despite repeated invitations by the
Iranian side?
Azerbaijan is pursuing a peaceful and good-neighbourhood policy
towards Iran. These Iranian leaders insulted the honour and dignity of
the Azerbaijani people, denying the fact of its existence. Cooperation
with Israel strengthens the position of Azerbaijan. The stronger
Azerbaijan will be, the more it will reckon and the easier it will be
to build constructive and mutually beneficial relations with Iran.
F.H.
News.Az
From: A. Papazian
Sat 01 September 2012 05:23 GMT | 6:23 Local Time
Avigdor Eskin
News.Az interviews Avigdor Eskin, Israeli political scientist.
In your opinion, does the recent visit of Israeli Minister of
Information and Diaspora Yuli Edelstein to Yerevan mean Israeli
government's intention to review relations with Armenia in favor of
their activation? As far as I know, until recently, Israeli officials
did not go to Yerevan at such a high level.
There are diplomatic relations between Israel and Armenia. Jerusalem
is naturally interested in improving relations with Armenia and the
Armenian people as a whole. However, this is not an easy task in the
current environment, as Armenia is a close ally of Iran, and Armenian
propaganda blames the Jews and Zionists in organizing mass killings of
Armenians in 1915 in Turkey.
Does the statement of Edelstein on recognition of the "Armenian
genocide" reflect the position of the country's leadership?
Edelstein's statement was misinterpreted. Even Aznavour has already
agreed that the term "genocide" is not required even for the Armenian
side. And our minister had in mind that in Israel there are no people
who would deny the mass murder and deportation of the Armenian
population in Turkey in 1915.
I think myself that the term "genocide" in this case is questionable,
since the tragic events were provoked by the Armenian rebellion. In
addition, the Armenian propaganda puts unrealistic number of victims,
and systematically is engaged in accusation of the Jews for those
terrible events. I assure you that Minister Edelstein is not ready to
recognize the Armenian version of the events of 1915 and thus agree
with their blood libel against Jews.
We would like to know your opinion about another issue, concerning
Azerbaijan directly Member of the US Congress Dana Rohrabacher has
addressed a letter to US Secretary General Hillary Clinton, in which
he suggests to offer support to the Azerbaijani population of the
northwest province of Iran in the issue of gaining independence. The
necessity to defend the rights of Iranian Azerbaijanis was a topic of
discussion earlier in Washing, but such a radical proposal is voiced
for the first time. Is this symbolic or does it reflect the opinion of
only one congressman?
Dana Rohrabacher is a very influential and respected politician. His
proposal is distinguished with boldness. The persecution of Azeris in
Iran and suppression of their principal rights concerns people with
good will, who are aware of the situation. Azerbaijanis of Iran should
be given the right to decide whether they want to live under the yoke
of possessed Islamists or join Azerbaijan. No one should meddle in the
domestic affairs of Iran. But Azeris have the right to decide their
destiny on their own, and it's necessary to hold a referendum on how
they want to form their destiny further.
By the way, in his letter Rohrabacher said: "It will be useful if the
United States would assist the military cooperation between Azerbaijan
and Israel, as Iranian authorities are both their and our enemies."
What do you think about the attempt to link the Azerbaijani-Israeli
cooperation with the proposal to tear off a significant part of the
country from Iran in order to weaken the regime in Tehran?
Our goal should be not weakening Tehran, but improving the living
conditions of Azerbaijanis in Iran. As for the Israeli-Azerbaijani
cooperation, thanks to it Azerbaijan may become in the next decade the
strongest military power in the region. This will not only provide
security to Azerbaijan, but also help to effectively defend the rights
of oppressed Azeris in Iran.
Would not disclosure of this story, widely replicated by Iranian and
Armenian media, lead to further deterioration of relations between
Baku and Tehran? And what are the prospects of this relationship at
all, given that the Azerbaijani president did not go to the
Non-Aligned Summit in Tehran, despite repeated invitations by the
Iranian side?
Azerbaijan is pursuing a peaceful and good-neighbourhood policy
towards Iran. These Iranian leaders insulted the honour and dignity of
the Azerbaijani people, denying the fact of its existence. Cooperation
with Israel strengthens the position of Azerbaijan. The stronger
Azerbaijan will be, the more it will reckon and the easier it will be
to build constructive and mutually beneficial relations with Iran.
F.H.
News.Az
From: A. Papazian