JOINT OPPOSITION CANDIDATE FOR AZERI PRESIDENT COMES OUT AGAINST "ARMS RATTLING" AND STATEMENTS ADVOCATING ANNIHILATION OF ARMENIANS
by Ashot Safaryan
ARMINFO
Friday, August 9, 21:25
The joint opposition candidate for Azeri president, Rustam
Ibragimbekov, is totally against the "arms rattling" and the statements
advocating annihilation of Armenians.
Radio Azatutyun reports that in his interview with Georgian Times,
Ibragimbekov qualified the Karabakh conflict as "Armenian authorities'
aggression against Azerbaijan".
"I am totally against turning Armenians against Azeris and turning
Azeris against Armenians. Sooner or later the conflict will be settled
between the states, but the hostility between the nations will remain
forever. I am totally against the "arms rattling" and the statements
that Armenians should be annihilated. Conflicts should not be settled
by weapons in the 21st century", he says.
On the other hand, Ibragimbekov is convinced that this situation
benefits both the Azerbaijani and Armenian governments.
"They are just feigning attempts to resolve the conflict. In reality,
they are making money on it. This is a source of power for them, a
weapon they can use for military purposes at any moment. I think this
problem must be solved by the peoples rather than the governments,"
Ibragimbekov said.
He said that if Azerbaijan becomes a truly democratic non-corrupt
country and if the Armenians and the Azerbaijanis living in
Nagorno-Karabakh are guaranteed equal rights, the conflict will become
much easier to resolve.
"The Armenians are clever and pragmatic and if they see that the
Azerbaijan-owned Nagorno-Karabakh is a better place to live in than
the Nagorno-Karabakh owned by Armenia, they will live there as they
did for centuries. Of course, this geopolitical knot depends on the
great powers, who often solve such problems contrary to the interests
of the concerned nations. But they too are watching what is going on
here," Ibragimbekov said.
by Ashot Safaryan
ARMINFO
Friday, August 9, 21:25
The joint opposition candidate for Azeri president, Rustam
Ibragimbekov, is totally against the "arms rattling" and the statements
advocating annihilation of Armenians.
Radio Azatutyun reports that in his interview with Georgian Times,
Ibragimbekov qualified the Karabakh conflict as "Armenian authorities'
aggression against Azerbaijan".
"I am totally against turning Armenians against Azeris and turning
Azeris against Armenians. Sooner or later the conflict will be settled
between the states, but the hostility between the nations will remain
forever. I am totally against the "arms rattling" and the statements
that Armenians should be annihilated. Conflicts should not be settled
by weapons in the 21st century", he says.
On the other hand, Ibragimbekov is convinced that this situation
benefits both the Azerbaijani and Armenian governments.
"They are just feigning attempts to resolve the conflict. In reality,
they are making money on it. This is a source of power for them, a
weapon they can use for military purposes at any moment. I think this
problem must be solved by the peoples rather than the governments,"
Ibragimbekov said.
He said that if Azerbaijan becomes a truly democratic non-corrupt
country and if the Armenians and the Azerbaijanis living in
Nagorno-Karabakh are guaranteed equal rights, the conflict will become
much easier to resolve.
"The Armenians are clever and pragmatic and if they see that the
Azerbaijan-owned Nagorno-Karabakh is a better place to live in than
the Nagorno-Karabakh owned by Armenia, they will live there as they
did for centuries. Of course, this geopolitical knot depends on the
great powers, who often solve such problems contrary to the interests
of the concerned nations. But they too are watching what is going on
here," Ibragimbekov said.