Turkish Daily News
Oct 19 2006

Diplomacy Newsline
Thursday, October 19, 2006

Azerbaijan to counter Armenian diaspora:

ANK – TDN with AFP

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has announced a campaign to
counter the influence of the Armenian diaspora, a major backer of
ethnic-Armenian separatists in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Aliyev said his oil-rich ex-Soviet republic was opening embassies
and consulates in parts of the world where the Armenian diaspora was
especially influential.

"It’s no secret that California is a state with a large Armenian
population. We opened a consulate general [in Los Angeles] to be
there and to fight the Armenian lobby," Aliyev said on Tuesday in an
interview with Arabic network Al Jazeera. He said his country planned
to open an embassy in Argentina, where the Armenian lobby "is [at its]
strongest among Latin American nations."

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in a territorial dispute
over the Nagorno-Karabakh ethnic-Armenian enclave since before the
breakup of the Soviet Union. Turkey severed diplomatic relations with
neighboring Armenia after Armenian troops occupied Nagorno-Karabakh,
and the border gate between Turkey and Armenia has been closed for
more than a decade. The influential Armenian diaspora, particularly in
the United States, has long been exerting efforts against Turkey via
its lobbying for Armenian genocide allegations to be internationally
recognized.

Aliyev said Azerbaijan’s new oil wealth gave it a chance to outweigh
ethnic-Armenians’ influence abroad. "What is attractive about
Armenia? Only the fact that it has a rich diaspora that influences the
policies of various countries," he said. "Azerbaijan is a country that
will supply Europe and world markets with energy resources. Imagine
Azerbaijan on one side of the scale and Armenia on the other."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress