Azeri official blasts West over backing hostile neighbor
An Azerbaijani official has directed pounding criticism at the West
over its failing to aid the country while supporting arch-foe
Armenia with which Azerbaijan faces a nearly two-decade-long
conflict.
"Despite providing financial and moral support to Armenia, which occupies Azerbaijan’s territory, and Upper Garabagh, we have seen no substantial support from the U.S. On the contrary, the West has been persistently reproaching Azerbaijan over human rights and other issues," said Novruz Mammadov, the head of the Presidential Administration international relations department.
Addressing a conference, "Obstacles to security in the South Caucasus: current realities and prospects for regional development," in Baku on Friday, Mammadov said Azerbaijan will defend its position on the Garabagh conflict till the end and there is no need to pressure Baku in any shape of form.
"They say both inside the country and abroad that if Azerbaijan pursued democratic reform more swiftly, Western attitude would be different. But I don’t think this assertion is right, because we have hundreds of other facts at hand. Let’s just refer to the events involving Afghanistan in the past days. The world community, the presidents of 27 states convened and talked about providing assistance to Afghanistan, but no tough stance is being put forward over the occupied Azerbaijani territories. Let’s say that there is a dispute
over the Upper Garabagh territory. How about the seven districts around Garabagh? Why isn’t the world community demanding an immediate end to the Armenian occupation of that land?
Azerbaijan fought a lengthy war with Armenia that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994, but the neighboring South Caucasus republic continues to occupy Upper Garabagh and seven adjacent Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law.
Touching on the agreement signed by Turkey and Armenia to reopen the two countries’ shared border, which has long been shut, Mammadov said Western diplomats often say that they have no abilities or time to discuss certain issues, but they had unexpectedly gathered in Switzerland for the signing of the Ankara-Yerevan protocols, and the documents were signed on the top level.
Turkey and Armenia face decades of enmity. Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 due to Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territory and past genocide claims. On October 10, in Zurich, the two governments signed two protocols to establish diplomatic relations and reopen their borders, in a bid to normalize their strained relations. The agreement has triggered a cool-down in Baku-Ankara relations, though the documents require parliamentary approval before taking effect, and Turkish officials have repeatedly made clear that Ankara could mend ties with Yerevan and open the border only after the Garabagh conflict has been fairly resolved.
Regarding the recent arrest of two bloggers in Azerbaijan, which was harshly criticized by international organizations, Mammadov said the West, and US media in particular, has begun watching this issue even more intensely than the Garabagh conflict, which is actually a tool of pressure on Azerbaijan.
The Presidential Administration official called on Western diplomats to "seriously think about Azerbaijan." He said the country could play the role of a substantial mediator between the East and West and the Christian and Islamic worlds.
Mammadov said that, according to a public opinion poll conducted by the BBC radio in Arab countries, eight out of every ten people hate America. "The U.S. should seriously think about this survey," he added.*
"Despite providing financial and moral support to Armenia, which occupies Azerbaijan’s territory, and Upper Garabagh, we have seen no substantial support from the U.S. On the contrary, the West has been persistently reproaching Azerbaijan over human rights and other issues," said Novruz Mammadov, the head of the Presidential Administration international relations department.
Addressing a conference, "Obstacles to security in the South Caucasus: current realities and prospects for regional development," in Baku on Friday, Mammadov said Azerbaijan will defend its position on the Garabagh conflict till the end and there is no need to pressure Baku in any shape of form.
"They say both inside the country and abroad that if Azerbaijan pursued democratic reform more swiftly, Western attitude would be different. But I don’t think this assertion is right, because we have hundreds of other facts at hand. Let’s just refer to the events involving Afghanistan in the past days. The world community, the presidents of 27 states convened and talked about providing assistance to Afghanistan, but no tough stance is being put forward over the occupied Azerbaijani territories. Let’s say that there is a dispute
over the Upper Garabagh territory. How about the seven districts around Garabagh? Why isn’t the world community demanding an immediate end to the Armenian occupation of that land?
Azerbaijan fought a lengthy war with Armenia that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994, but the neighboring South Caucasus republic continues to occupy Upper Garabagh and seven adjacent Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law.
Touching on the agreement signed by Turkey and Armenia to reopen the two countries’ shared border, which has long been shut, Mammadov said Western diplomats often say that they have no abilities or time to discuss certain issues, but they had unexpectedly gathered in Switzerland for the signing of the Ankara-Yerevan protocols, and the documents were signed on the top level.
Turkey and Armenia face decades of enmity. Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 due to Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territory and past genocide claims. On October 10, in Zurich, the two governments signed two protocols to establish diplomatic relations and reopen their borders, in a bid to normalize their strained relations. The agreement has triggered a cool-down in Baku-Ankara relations, though the documents require parliamentary approval before taking effect, and Turkish officials have repeatedly made clear that Ankara could mend ties with Yerevan and open the border only after the Garabagh conflict has been fairly resolved.
Regarding the recent arrest of two bloggers in Azerbaijan, which was harshly criticized by international organizations, Mammadov said the West, and US media in particular, has begun watching this issue even more intensely than the Garabagh conflict, which is actually a tool of pressure on Azerbaijan.
The Presidential Administration official called on Western diplomats to "seriously think about Azerbaijan." He said the country could play the role of a substantial mediator between the East and West and the Christian and Islamic worlds.
Mammadov said that, according to a public opinion poll conducted by the BBC radio in Arab countries, eight out of every ten people hate America. "The U.S. should seriously think about this survey," he added.*