AZERI OFFICIAL DENIES ANTI-IRAN COALITION EXISTS

Day.az, Azerbaijan
Nov 22 2006

An exclusive interview of Day.az with the head of the press and
information policy department of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry,
Tahir Tagizada.

[Correspondent] Tahir muallim [mode of address], do you think it was
a surprise that senators known for their pro-Armenian position were
elected as leaders of the Democrats and Republicans in the US Senate?

Or was it the expected consequence of the coordinated and methodical
work of the Armenian lobby?

[Tagizada] It is a very hard and thankless thing to comment on the
policies of another state. It is especially so if at issue is the
world’s largest super power which is a strategic partner of Azerbaijan.

Therefore, I think it is incorrect to divide parties into a
ruling and opposition ones on the basis of their attitude to the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Karabakh conflict.

You actually know that the working group for developing Azerbaijani-US
relations comprises congressmen from both the Democratic and Republican
parties.

[Passage omitted: Tagizada says Azerbaijan should rely on the
Azerbaijani community in the USA in its relations with the USA; the
two countries have political and economic cooperation and are allies
in the fight against global terrorism]

[Correspondent] What do Azerbaijan’s national interests dictate in
the sphere of building relations with Iran?

[Tagizada] I have already said that Azerbaijan’s national interests
are invariable and do not depend on which country or international
organizations they are being built with.

But if you mean the talk about the existence of some "anti-Iran
coalition", it simply does not exist. But even if it did, Azerbaijan
would not join it.

For Azerbaijan, the question here is very clear-cut and definite
– our region, which is strategically important both for building
international relations and for the international security system,
is already so full of conflict that the limit of durability of peace
in our region has already been reached.

Besides, Azerbaijan favours not a military but a diplomatic resolution
of problems, both in the Iranian and the Karabakh issues.

[Correspondent] In the meantime, last weekend [18-19 November]
the Iranian TV channel Sahar aired for an hour calls for a coup in
Azerbaijan. How would you comment on this?

[Tagizada] Unfortunately, I am not yet familiar with what exactly the
Iranian TV channel Sahar broadcast. Therefore, give me time to become
acquainted with this information. Then, I can give them [the calls]
a precise evaluation.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress