ORDINARY ARMENIANS ‘WANT PEACE’

news.az
April 8 2010
Azerbaijan

Aydin Mirzazade News.Az interviews ruling party MP Aydin Mirzazade,
deputy chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Security and Defence.

How do you assess the possibility of Azerbaijanis and Armenians living
side by side?

I think the coexistence of Azerbaijanis and Armenia is possible. Our
people had good relations for 200 years, since the appearance of the
first Armenian settlements in Azerbaijan. There have been good times,
despite some unpleasant situations. I think ordinary citizens in the
Armenian community of occupied Nagorno-Karabakh also want peace.

For example, there was the recent case of an Armenian citizen driving
into Azerbaijan with his family. However, I think coexistence is
possible only within the framework of the territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan after the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied
lands. I do not think coexistence is possible before then.

Though ethnic Armenians live in Azerbaijan today and do not experience
any discrimination, coexistence throughout our territory, the exchange
of cultural traditions, newspapers, TV channels and holidays are
possible only after the resolution of the Karabakh conflict.

Do you think visits by Azerbaijani intellectuals to Nagorno-Karabakh
help bring a settlement closer?

The visits promote the conflict settlement, they direct the negotiation
process, but separatist visits are inadmissible.

Is it possible to say that the Karabakh settlement is nearing
completion?

This is not clear, but Azerbaijan does everything that depends on it.

I think it is time for Armenia to draw serious conclusions. The choice
of the Armenian side is the choice of Armenian statehood.

What position should Azerbaijan take in the information war?

We should stick to our current position. First of all, it is necessary
to cover the process objectively, to show history as it is, to
look for and strengthen Azerbaijani interests in the international
environment. Our information policy should be Azerbaijani and include
some part of international information systems.