PRESS RELEASE

13-11-2007
Vladimir Karapetian, Armenia’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Responds to a
Question by "Mediamax" News Agency

Question: Mr. Karapetian, the Azerbaijani Press Officer offered quite an
inappropriate interpretation of certain segments of the Armenian Prime
Minister’s interview to the Los Angeles Times. Do you have a comment?

Answer: It is very difficult to call that an ‘interpretation’.

It is also rather amusing that an official whose lies a local media outlet
recently exposed and who carries diplomatic rank, attempts to pass judgement
on one of the leaders of a neighboring country.

It is regrettable that the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson has
inherited both the style and the methods of his predecessor, as well as the
moral stance of his authorities. It would appear that such an approach has
become tradition for the Azerbaijani MFA. Perhaps we can’t expect more of a
country where intolerance and blind hate towards national minorities and
their cultural heritage has achieved political heights. There are plenty of
examples of this, including the daily calls for war.

For Armenia, religious tolerance and cooperation with neighboring countries
are not empty words. Rather, together, they are our past, our daily life,
our daily relations and our shared future.