Azeri leader condemns double standards in international politics
Star website, Istanbul
4 Jul 05
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has spoken out against double
standards with regard to Turkey and Azerbaijan in international
politics. In an interview with the Turkish newspaper Star, Aliyev
described the world community’s position on the Nagornyy Karabakh
problem as hypocrisy, saying that international law works immediately
when some nations are concerned and remains silent when it comes to
Azerbaijan and Turkey. He said that Azerbaijan will never accept the
independence of Nagornyy Karabakh and has enough military power to put
an end to the occupation of its territory by Armenia. Speaking about
the forthcoming November parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan,
President Aliyev pledged to continue democratic reforms and ensure
free and fair elections. The following is the text of unattributed
report by Turkish newspaper Star website on 4 July headlined “Aliyev’s
ultimatum to Yerevan”. Subheadings as published:
Aliyev referred to the territory occupied by Armenia and said: “There
is no more time. We are losing our patience. They will either reach an
agreement and they will withdraw or our army will drive them away.”
Aliyev criticized the world countries for two things: They use double
standards regarding issues, to which Turkey is a side.
When I met Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the reception hall of
the Presidential Palace in Baku, it was possible to see that he had
come out of a tense meeting during which the country’s national
security problems had been discussed.
This 45-year-old statesman, who has been closely following world
politics since the day he inherited the presidency of the Azerbaijani
Republic from his father Heydar Aliyev who is described as “the
founding president,” began to feel comfortable only after my third
question.
As the interview continued I saw before me a cheerful president who
has made his homework properly, who has profound knowledge about the
developments that occur in the region, who is determined to maintain
the balances that were established by the late Heydar Aliyev, who is
very close to Turkey, and who has shaped his programme regarding the
future.
After this introduction I will merely enable Ilham Aliyev speak. Here
is the interview.
Oil is not everything
[Star] The honourable Aliyev, Azerbaijan waged a struggle for its
independence not so long ago – as a matter of fact, only 16 years
ago. And today Azerbaijan is seen as one of the most strategic
countries in the world. Many people believe that this success story
merely stems from the fact that Azerbaijan has oil. Do you believe
that oil is the only reason for Azerbaijan’s success?
[Aliyev] No. There is oil in many countries. If a country has oil,
this does not mean that it is a country of strategic importance. Our
strategic importance has increased due to our location and due to the
fact that we are consistently getting stronger. As our founder Heydar
Aliyev used to say, we live with Turkey as “one nation and two
states”. Our policies are based on this principle. Turkey and
Azerbaijan should resolve their economic problems and they should get
stronger together. This is very important and the world therefore
closely follows these efforts. With its 18-per-cent growth rate,
Azerbaijan is the fastest developing country in the world. The
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas
pipeline, and the Baku-Kars railway – there is no doubt that the
implementation of these projects is strengthening us in the
region. The region has reached a point, where no project can be
realized without the inclusion of Turkey and Azerbaijan. It is
impossible to do anything without the approval of Turkey and
Azerbaijan. This is our power.
Our army is very strong
[Star] I will use here the concept of fraternal partnership, rather
than strategic partnership because the latter is used in many
places. How will the fraternal partnership between Turkey and
Azerbaijan affect the Nagornyy Karabakh issue?
[Aliyev] Time is working in our favour in Nagornyy Karabakh that has
been occupied by Armenia primarily and is Azerbaijani territory. The
developments are auspicious for Azerbaijan. Compared with 11 years
ago, Azerbaijan has a stronger economy. It has established stability
at home. It is a developing country whose financial resources increase
every passing day. This is also reflected on our war power. With the
great support of the Turkish armed forces, Azerbaijan currently has
the strongest army in the South Caucasus. Our army is capable of
putting an end to the occupation of its territory single-handedly. We
are purchasing the necessary ammunition for our army every year and we
are making efforts to ensure that it gets stronger. Despite this,
however, Armenia’s economy has collapsed. It has imprisoned itself
within its own territory due to the policies that it has pursued. It
is a small and weak country that causes pain and suffering for its
people. It knows that it is no longer able to compete with Azerbaijan
in the economic or military fields. We currently continue to hold
talks with them because we believe that there is some hope. It should
be known, however, that there is a limit to the patience of the
Azerbaijani people.
[Star] In fact we are talking about a cease-fire that was announced 11
years ago. In other words, the conditions of war have not vanished. On
the contrary, the war still continues. If the Armenians sabotage the
efforts to find a solution, will Azerbaijan prefer to say the last
word in the war field?
[Aliyev] We are determined to make peaceful efforts in the
international community for putting an end to the occupation. We are
determined to make these efforts to the end because we have waged a
war and we know how much nations lose as a result of wars. This does
not mean, however, that we will remain spectators to the fact that
Azerbaijani territory is under occupation. International law is on our
side, but for one reason or another it is working very slowly against
us. Let me give you an example: You know about the problems related to
Abkhazia and Ossetia in Georgia. Both issues resemble the Karabakh
issue in terms of ethnic separatism. The world does not recognize
these separatist movements where Georgia is concerned and it is
displaying great sensitivity in order to ensure that the territorial
integrity of the Georgian state is maintained. And this is the right
thing to do. The world demands that we accept the illegal situation in
Karabakh and that we sacrifice our lands. Why? I can only assess this
as double standards.
[Star] Maybe, this is hypocrisy.
[Aliyev] Yes, hypocrisy. This is an unjust world. For one reason or
another, international justice works immediately where some nations
are concerned, and it remains silent where we are
concerned. Karabakh’s independence is unthinkable. We cannot give up
Azerbaijani territory. This is also unthinkable. We will not accept
this just because several dishonourable politicians from the Armenian
lobby suggest this. Currently we are strong enough to wage a war and
to put an end to this occupation. If the problem is not resolved
through peaceful means, we will not hesitate to use our military
power. The Armenians do not have a lot of time to reach a decision in
this regard. They will either reach an agreement and they will
withdraw, or our army will drive them away.
[Star] Turkey and Azerbaijan appear to share the same fate where the
hypocrisy displayed by the world is concerned. International law is
not applied where the Turks are concerned.
[Aliyev] You are quite right. Look at Turkey. Despite the fact that it
is right it is not able to explain the Cyprus issue to the world. This
does not mean that Turkey is unable to explain the issue. The other
side does not want to understand. Look at us. I am the one whose
territory has been occupied. The w orld comes to me and says that I
should respect the rights of the occupier and that I should accept
what it says. International law either does not work or works very
slowly where the Turks are concerned. This is nothing, but hypocrisy
towards the Turks.
Democracy will get stronger
[Star] In addition to all this, discussions on democracy are being
held in your country in the light of the elections to the National
Assembly that will be held on 4 November [actually 6
November]. Azerbaijan deepened its independence during the term of
your father Heydar Aliyev. Will it be able to deepen its democracy
during your term?
[Aliyev] We continue to make democratic reforms. Azerbaijan has been a
member of the Council of Europe for the past four year and we have
very close contacts with the EU. We are working together with Europe
for democratization. This is a very appropriate question. Azerbaijan
primarily focused on strengthening its independence. This process has
begun in 1996 and has reached these days. The late Heydar Aliyev
primarily established stability and he turned independence into real
independence. This and the ties that we established with Europe have
strengthened our independence. Currently it is time to strengthen
democracy. Let no-one be concerned. The 4 November elections will be
held before the eyes of the entire world and they will be
just. Everyone knows, however, that democracy does not work properly
in poor countries that have grave social problems. For a healthy
democracy there is a need for a strong economy that will obstruct
radicalism. This is what we are after. The more we strengthen
Azerbaijan’s economy and the more we resolve its social problems, the
more Azerbaijan’s democracy will get stronger.
[Star] Currently, however, you believe that the strengthening of
democracy does not constitute a threat to the stability in Azerbaijan.
[Aliyev] Of course. On the contrary, the development of Azerbaijan’s
democracy will lead to the improvement of the economy. Our people will
utilize their free investment means in this free environment. It is
therefore impossible to give up democracy. On the contrary, we aim to
develop democracy in all fields.
We sympathize with Tayyip Erdogan
[Star] As far as I understand you speak the same language with Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan, whom you have hosted recently.
[Aliyev] We are speaking the same language with Prime Minister Erdogan
in every field. We feel personal sympathy towards him and we have a
dialogue. We regularly hold consultations on the phone, even if we
cannot talk face to face. Every time I visit European countries, I am
pleased to see that Erdogan is praised in these countries and that he
is considered very charismatic by these countries. We have just
received the information notes of his last visit to the United States
and we can see that the visit to the United States was very successful
from all aspects. Prime Minister Erdogan and I are determined to exert
utmost efforts in order to strengthen the brotherhood between Turkey
and Azerbaijan and in order to ensure that the two countries become a
power centre in terms of the entire world.
Oil for Special Prices
[Star] At a time when the price of oil has exceeded 60 US dollars,
will you take action in order to alleviate the new loads loaded by the
increasing oil prices on the Turkish economy? In other words, will you
sell Turkey oil for cheap prices, honourable president?
[Aliyev] (Laughing) The oil and natural gas agreements that we have
signed with Turkey are based on very special prices. The international
oil prices are meaningless where relations between Turkey and
Azerbaijan are concerned. This was so when the price of oil stood at
eight US dollars and this is so when the price of oil is 60
dollars. Our brothers in Turkey should not be too concerned about the
oil prices.