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Ramiz Mehdiyev: â€œMorningstar failed as Ambassadorâ€

23 May 2014 15:18 (UTC +04:00)

Baku – APA. “No one should forget that according to the Constitution, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is the guarantor of the independence of the country. No external power has ever acted, does not act and can not act as guarantor of our independence,” said Head of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Ramiz Mehdiyev in his interview with the Azerbaijan State Telegraph Agency (AzerTAc), APA reports.

Mehdiyev called on the ambassador not to worry about Azerbaijan: “Let Morningstar not to worry about us. The current level of Azerbaijan’s development, economic growth and strengthening of statehood institutions allow us to protect the independence of the country with the support of the people. The threat of independence always comes from those who rule the world alone. Today the situation is different.”

The PA Head said that the task of diplomats is to open doors, not slam them behind themselves: “Everyone can do it, but if you are entrusted with the mission of the diplomat, then please perform it with responsibility and fairness. There is no need to blackmail Azerbaijan leaving the region and with other provocative statements. You can not achieve trust through the language of blackmail and threats.”

Mehdiyev recalled ambassador Morningstar’s opinions that he is familiar with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for 19 years: “But, apparently, during this time the ambassador had not apprehended that the Azerbaijani leader does not accept elevated tone, threat and blackmail. Otherwise, the ambassador wouldn’t have allowed himself to incorrect statements regarding the situation in Azerbaijan. We are ready only for an equal dialogue basing on mutual interest, other forms of inter-state relations are unacceptable to us. I have no doubt that Washington’s policy toward Azerbaijan is determined by sensible and experienced politicians, who understand what geopolitical compensation they will pay for leaving Azerbaijan. The EU countries also understand it well enough. If we take into account the current level of international relations, the U.S. ambassador’s position sounds very frivolous.”

Mehdiyev also shared his opinions on the future of the relations: “I don’t think that the U.S. will undermine the relations with Azerbaijan, to which the energy security of Europe is related, due to the irresponsible statements of talkative ambassador. You must agree that the traditional pragmatism of the U.S. diplomacy will prevent it. As for Morningstar, his activity as Ambassador to Azerbaijan failed.”

Head of the Presidential Administration said that Azerbaijan's foreign policy is based on peace and neighborly relations with surrounding countries: “We do not interfere in their internal affairs and demand the same attitude toward ourselves. Russia is our closest neighbor, the relations with this country have always been a special vector in Azerbaijan's foreign policy. There is a mutual understanding between the two countries and there is no unresolved issue except for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. All problems are resolved only through dialogue and equal negotiations. It would be biased to think that there is a tension between Russia and Azerbaijan. However, some forces within the country and abroad repeatedly attempted to damage the relations between Azerbaijan and Russia. Such provocations resulted in failure through wisdom and mutual trust of the leaders of the two countries.”

Mehdiyev said Morningstar noted that Iran’s being Azerbaijan’s southern neighbor and Russia’s being northern neighbor pose threat to Azerbaijan: “For some reason, he forgot the main threat to the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Armenia, which occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, is not only the main threat to the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, but also a powder keg in the region. The United States should be concerned about it, not about our neighbors. The danger of a military conflict in the region is inevitable unless Armenian invaders withdraw from our lands.”

The Head of PA asked the Ambassador some questions. “If the U.S. considers itself a guarantor of independence and think of us, why hasn’t it repealed the 907th amendment yet? It is true that Washington has temporarily suspended it, but if the Americans are sincerely interested in the development of bilateral relations, why don’t they abolish this amendment? Or why doesn’t the U.S. influence Armenia to return the occupied territories of Azerbaijan? But there were such cases that the U.S. immediately took practical steps if it suits to its interest. For example, the U.S. and NATO started a military operation against the sovereign state in Libya just after the Security Council of the UN adopted a document. Proper decisions were made and promptly executed in an hour. Or let’s remember Iraq and Yugoslavia. The U.S. used force there without UN Security Council’s resolutions. Then why is the U.S. so indifferent to the violation of the international law by Armenia against Azerbaijan? I think that the U.S. Ambassador, first of all, should explain specially these issues to the Azerbaijani community. These issues are still unresolved for more than 20 years due to his state’s fault”.