Domestic

Domestic

Mustafa Kabakchi: â€We will repel attacks against Turkey and Azerbaijan togetherâ€

30 April 2008 09:30 (UTC +04:00)

-Are you satisfied with the current state of Turkey-Azerbaijan relations?
-There was a will to establish Turkish Republic. It was Mustafa Kemal Ataturkâ€™s will. In Azerbaijan it was Heydar Aliyevâ€™s will. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk said: â€œAzerbaijanâ€™s gladness is our gladness and Azerbaijanâ€™s grief is our griefâ€. Heydar Aliyev characterized the Turkey-Azerbaijan relations as â€œWe are one nation in two statesâ€. Turkey-Azerbaijan relations will continue throughout the world history. We have common enemies. Armenians accused Turks in genocide despite that they lived in welfare in Ottoman Empire. They continue occupying policy against Azerbaijan since 1920s. It is impossible for Turkey to accept this attitude. 20 per cent of Azerbaijanâ€™s lands are under occupation. We are strongly condemning this occupation. We are together with our Azerbaijani brothers despite all pressures upon us. We can change our attitude to Armenia only after the liberation of occupied lands of Azerbaijan and returning of more than one million refugees to their homeland. PKK committing terrorist attacks against Turkey for 25 years is echoing now in Karabakh. You see, as the friends come together, our enemies are also uniting. Heydar Aliyev perfectly knew the world processes and now Ilham Aliyev continues his way. I believe Azerbaijan will develop and conquer the peaks under the leadership of its present head of state. Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway following the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline will make the relations even stronger. Nearly 100 Azerbaijani business people are operating in Turkey. We are securing their rights in high level. We are glad that Azerbaijan also warmly welcomes the Turkish business people. It is necessary to lift some customs tariffs between Azerbaijan and Turkey. It will strengthen trade relations between the two countries.
-Opening of Turkey-Armenia borders comes to agenda when Turkey discusses its membership to European Union. What do you think about that?
-All over the world know who is who. We are together with Azerbaijan. We are supporting Azerbaijan not depending on somebodyâ€™s talks. There was aggression against the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and more than one million brothers were expelled from their homeland. Turkey will not make any step until changing of this reality.
-Turkish Foreign Minister stated about the possibility of negotiations with his Armenian counterpart. What is behind of this statement?
-I am repeating once more Turkey will not change its attitude to this issue. The countries can hold negotiations, but these negotiations cannot solve the injustice. The government officials can negotiate with each other, but we will underline the lifting of injustice against Azerbaijan as an important issue at these negotiations.
-You noted that PKK terrorist organization was heard from the occupied Azerbaijani territories. Can Turkey carry out the anti-terror operation, which was held in Northern Iraq, together with Azerbaijani Army in Karabakh?
- Everything should be discussed in its time. We should think over our future together. Therefore, those who make plans concerning the future of Azerbaijan and Turkey, should know that we are one nation and will repel all attacks against us together. If PKK starts to settle down in the occupied territories, they should know that Turkey will be against it.
-What about the formation of Turkic statesâ€™ Parliamentary Assembly?
-Turkic states had an assembly in Antalya on the level of prime ministers. Soon speakers of parliaments will have analogous meetings.
-Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to some extent isolate themselves from Turkic States Union. What is done to strengthen the relations with these countries?
-Measures are taken to extend the relations again. One of our ministers is in Uzbekistan now. The same meetings are held with Turkmenistan. These are not continuous divergence. Brothers also have such problems. As Turkic states we should rely on one another and one should do its best to improve the other.
-How do you forecast the results of the court hearing on suspending AKP?
-There is free judicial system in Turkey, everybody respects the law. As AKP we are making our legal preparations. If the law requires it, it will be so. All are equal before the law. The legal procedure has already started, therefore we should touch on this issue.
-They say AKPâ€™s policy concerning the Turkic world differs from the one pursued by the previous governmentâ€¦
-This is not right. AKP is too sensitive towards the Turkic world. 15,000 people from Turkic states come to Turkey to study every year. The main aim of AKP is to extend these relations.