Armenian leader says jealousy behind Azeri counterpart’s “outpost” remarks
Arminfo
20 Dec 04
Yerevan, 20 December: Armenian President Robert Kocharyan is under
the impression that Azerbaijani President [Ilham Aliyev] is currently
worried about Armenia’s warm relations with Russia. This opinion was
voiced by Kocharyan at a press conference during a working visit to
Armenia’s Lori District. He was commenting on Aliyev’s statement that
Azerbaijan does not know who to talk to: Armenia or the real owner
of this outpost [Russia].
Aliyev had in fact misinterpreted Russian State Duma Speaker Boris
Gryzlov’s statement that Armenia is Russia’s outpost in the south.
“Ilham Aliyev is somewhat worried, I guess needlessly. No-one
prevents him from building this kind of relationship. And jealousy
is inappropriate here. We, for instance, are not worried about
Azerbaijan’s friendly relations with Turkey,” Kocharyan said. He said
that Aliyev’s statement should not affect the Karabakh settlement.
Kocharyan said he was planning to give an interview on the situation
around the Karabakh conflict, but Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan’s
recent interview to the press was so comprehensive and detailed that
he decided not to repeat what the foreign minister had said.