TURKEY’S PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION DISCUSSES CO-OPERATION WITH CONGRESS OF AZERBAIJANIS IN ISRAEL

Trend News Agency
April 9 2008
Azerbaijan

Israel, Jerusalem, 9 April /corr. Trend News R.Abdullayev / The
Chairman of the International Relations Commission of the National
Assembly of Turkey, Prof. Murat Merjan, who is on visit to Israel,
intends to support the activity of the Congress of the Azerbaijanis in
Israel and provide all kinds of support to the perspective projects of
the organization, Merjan said at the meeting with the representatives
of the Congress at Tel Aviv University.

Touching upon the trilateral Azerbaijani-Israeli-Turkish relations
and highlighting the closeness of the culture and mentality,
Merjan said that these relations are based on the rich heritage and
historical mutual respect of the Azerbaijani, Israeli and Turkish
peoples. "Co-operation and friendship between Azerbaijan, Israel and
Turkey contain deep roots. The Jews have been residing for centuries
and reside in Azerbaijan and Turkey as equal right citizens. They
made significant contributions to the development of the Azerbaijani
and Turkish science, culture, health, economy, industry," the Turkish
MP said.

The President of the Congress of the Azerbaijanis in Israel, Shapiro
Suliman, informed Merjan of the goals, targets and projects of the
organization. "Strong and influential Congress of the Azerbaijanis
in Israel is capable to present, defend and lobby the interests of
co-operation between Turkey, Israel and Azerbaijan," he said, adding
that the Congress is willing to really co-operate with Turkey.

Shapiro Suliman stated that exactly the Congress of the Azerbaijanis
in Israel firstly appealed to Turkey’s Ambassador, Namik Tan, when the
Israeli Knesset wanted to discuss so-called ‘genocide of the Armenians’
and began to, jointly with Turkey’s embassy, carry out works with the
Israeli MPs who supported this issue. "Our force is in the unity and
large-scale propaganda," Suliman said.

The Vice President of the Congress, Bakhtiyar Yagubov, stated that
Turkey is the key true and strategic partner of Israel in the Middle
East. There is serious and comprehensive co-operation between the
countries. "We, as Azerbaijani diaspora in Israel, try to attach
strategic character to the co-operation between Azerbaijan, Israel and
Turkey in the sphere of economy and policy. We have many concrete joint
projects for realizing our trilateral co-operation," Yagubov said.