Azernews.Az

By Akbar Mammadov

The U.S. has always defended Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and this official position will not change in the foreseeable future, Peter M.Tase, an expert on the geopolitics of Europe and Azerbaijani studies, said in an exclusive interview with AzerNews on June 7.

The expert also spoke about the activities of the Armenian diaspora in the U.S.

"There are a plethora of activities led by the Armenian Diaspora organizations in the United States, that are focused on damaging the impressive national image of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani people in the U.S and other countries. However, the US foreign policy has maintained a clear position towards Azerbaijan.”

Tase said that in the upcoming decades, Washington will certainly develop and strengthen its bilateral strategic partnership with Baku, especially in the economic, cultural, commercial, and political spheres.

"A perfect example of this excellent partnership is the U.S. Cultural Center and English Language Library in the Azerbaijan University of Languages, that has been expanded over the last three years, under the leadership of Chancellor and a distinguished writer, Azerbaijani Academic Kamal Mehdi Abdullayev. The US-Azerbaijan dialogue is intensified under the administration of President Donald Trump, and steadfast economic cooperation has delivered tangible results that are beneficial for both countries", Tase said.

The US expert also spoke about the phased settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which requires the liberation of some of Azerbaijani lands in its initial phases. Reminding that the Armenian authorities have publicly refused to de-occupy Azerbaijani lands, Tase said:

"Armenia and its fascist government has openly violated, over the last thirty years the European Union’s fundamental values of the rule of law and respect for human rights,” Tase said.

He also underlined the fact that the repeated destruction of cultural and archaeological sites, including in the historic city of Shusha and environmental destruction in occupied Kalbajar are an illustration of the belligerent attitude embraced by the Armenian regime in relation to the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan.

Furthermore, Tase said that Armenia has been violating the United Nations Charter, principles of international law.

"This framework proposed by the Azerbaijani head of state is in unison and harmony with the Articles 2, 3, 6 and 21 of the Treaty of the European Union and with the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights", Tase noted.

"It is apparent that Armenian regime would oppose the recommendations (that might also benefit Yerevan’s long term strategic interests) due to Armenia’s corrupt ruling elite’s refusal to pursue the policy of peace and economic prosperity in Europe. These are political actions that are very harmful to Armenian citizens and make Armenia have a greater level of unemployment, rampant nepotism-corruption, economic stagnation and making remittances as the only dependable source of capital flow", he said.

Furthermore, Tase stressed that the economic downfall in Armenia is directly related to its aggressive policies and the invasion of the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan.

"With the revival of peace in the region and liberation, recovery of all territorial sovereignty of Azerbaijan; the economy and public sector of Armenia will improve, and the country will cease to exist as a failed state", he concluded.

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Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

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