Foreign

Home page

Foreign

Huseyn Avni Karslioglu: Ambassadorship in Azerbaijan is the peak in my career

19 February 2008 11:48 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Gulshan Hajiyeva-APA. Outgoing Turkish ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Azerbaijan Huseyn Avni Karslioglu will leave Azerbaijan on February 20. Huseyn Avni Karslioglu, who has been appointed head of Presidential Secretariat in Turkey, gave his last interview before leaving Azerbaijan to APA.

-What do you feel leaving Azerbaijan?
-I feel like a person parted with his house. But I leave my home here for another home. It is a consolation for me. I am told that I will hold a higher post there. But I think that ambassadorship in Azerbaijan is the peak in my career. It is impossible to feel the love I see here in the streets and regions anywhere else. I am leaving Azerbaijan with these feelings.
-You will be head of Presidential Secretariat in Turkey. What steps do you plan to take in your new post to extend the cooperation and relations between the two countries?
-I will follow daily activities of the president. I will not determine foreign policy. But I will try to give information about Azerbaijanâ€™s truths in some assemblies and during visits to foreign countries.
-What actions can Turkey take to help Azerbaijan in the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict? Turkish media reports that PKK terrorists come to Armenia and the occupied Azerbaijani territories. What steps does Turkey plan to take in this direction?
-Nagorno Karabakh is the problem of all of us, not only of Azerbaijan. As regards the reports, our work is not based on the reports of Turkish media. Such reports should be first of all confirmed. If confirmed, they will have serious results. The US and European countries recognize PKK as a terrorist organization. It is obvious what open support for a terrorist organization may cause. Operations carried out in Northern Iraq are obvious. Deployment of PKK terrorists in Armenia or in the occupied Azerbaijani territories may cause serious discontent of the international community. These reports should be proved with evidence and documents.
-Kosovoâ€™s declaration of independence was not met unambiguously by the worldâ€¦
-Yugoslavia began to separate in 1990.Germany recognized Slovenia. Then the war began in Croatia and Bosnia. Then Chernogoria and Macedonia separated. Kosovo has same status with republics. Yugoslavia was an artificial established country. Nagorno Karabakh conflict is a different problem. Nagorno Karabakh was not a part of Armenia legally. It was in the territory of Azerbaijan. Armenia was established on the lands which were under domination of Yerevan khanate. Therefore, Kosovo can not be precedent for Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Separation of Nagorno Karabakh from Azerbaijan is impossible. Armenians carried out ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis there. IDPs should return to their lands. I believe that they will return to their lands. Status of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is also different. Nagorno Karabakh conflict can not be compared with Abkhazia too. Each region has got own features. Nagorno Karabakh was inseparable part of Azerbaijan it will be so after that.
-Azerbaijan was anxious about arrest of Vali Kuchuk, member of Management Board of World Azerbaijanis Congress. How is your opinion on this issue?
-Why should we protest to legal measures? The court has not yet passed decision and therefore it is early to say that he is a criminal. If somebody committees crime, his higher position and origin can not change the result.
-Though consortium which includes Azerbaijani State Oil Company won in the tender for sale of PETKIM, the result of this sale was cancelled. How does this step influence to the relations on economic cooperation of the two countries?
-This is legal process. Several classes in Turkey are against to privatization. If representative of any country won in this tender, the result would not be changed. We support the privatization.
Headscarf problem has not solved in Turkey .Will this issue be solved?
This decision was passed in Turkish Parliament. If girls in Russia, England, France, Germany, Norway, Bulgaria and Azerbaijan attend the classes with headscarf, why should not it be so in Turkey?