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Consul General Elin Suleymanov: As a result of Armenia’s own irresponsible policies in the region, all four of its immediate neighbors voted against Yerevan at the UN General Assembly - EXCLUSIVE

24 March 2008 09:53 (UTC +04:00)

- Recently a group of Armenian Diaspora members in California issued a
statement criticizing the Government of Azerbaijan and you in particular
for trying to divide Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora. Azerbaijan was
accused of â€œdivide and conquerâ€ policy towards the Armenians. How would
you comment on this?
- I am very surprised to hear about the statement you described in your question. As you know, Azerbaijan does not and has no intention to interfere in anyoneâ€™s internal affairs. This has been a repeatedly stated policy by our Government. On the contrary, it is unfortunate that the Armenian side has been trying to involve Azerbaijan into its domestic political confrontation. First, the voting for Armenian president was organized on Azerbaijanâ€™s occupied territories; then, the Armenian side initiated a military provocation along the line of contact, apparently, in order to distract attention from the events in Yerevan. Now, some Diaspora members are saying that Azerbaijan is responsible for political divisions among Armenians. I donâ€™t know who the authors of the statement you mentioned are. However, it is an old trick to blame someone externally when one has problems internally. While predictable, blaming Azerbaijan for Armeniaâ€™s current problems by Armenian radicals is simply absurd. After all, it was not the Azerbaijani side, who protested in Yerevan, and it was not the Azerbaijani soldiers, who shot at the protesters in Armenia. Once again, Azerbaijan takes no sides in Armeniaâ€™s domestic political crises and would like to stay away from it. Similarly, the Azerbaijani side has no interest in â€œdividingâ€ and â€œconqueringâ€ anyone. Maybe, the authors of the statement forgot that we do not represent Armenia. Of course, the current Armenian leaders come from among the separatists based on Azerbaijanâ€™s occupied territories, but it seems unfair to blame Azerbaijan for their behavior.
- So, Azerbaijan should have no concerns regarding the recent political
crisis in Armenia?
- The Azerbaijani side hopes that the Armenian political confrontation will have no destabilizing influence on our region as a whole. Letâ€™s look at the context, however. Our region is developing rapidly and Azerbaijan, Georgia and other nations have built a strong network of partnerships. Armenia could have been a part of our regionâ€™s success. Instead, as a result of self-imposed isolation and short-sighted policy of aggressive ethnic expansionism conducted by Yerevan, Armenia is sacrificing its own future and is causing damage to Azerbaijan as a result of occupation and ethnic cleansing. The events in Armenia today come as a direct result of a political culture based on use of violence and ethnic intolerance. Therefore, on the regional level, it is important whether Armeniaâ€™s politicians understand the importance of a peaceful and sustainable settlement with Azerbaijan for the future of their own nation. Of course, it is up to the Armenians themselves to decide how they want their country to develop. Notably, during the recent UN General Assembly vote on the resolution on the occupied territories of Azerbaijan all four of Armeniaâ€™s neighbors voted for the resolution and against Armenia. They are Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and, after sending a special request to the UN Secretariat to count its vote as positive, Iran. The Armenian Government spokesman dismissed these and many other nations, which voted for the resolution by implying that they are not â€œcivilized.â€ Still, if being in an absolute minority at the General Assembly doesnâ€™t send Yerevan a message, then having every neighbor calling on Armenia to cease its occupation of Azerbaijan should.