AZERBAIJAN AND TURKEY – SHOULDER TO SHOULDER!
Dr. Elnur Aslanov

Hurriyet
April 18 2010
Turkey

Eminent Turkish journalist Mehmet Ali Birand wrote recently that
Azerbaijan is on the sidelines of the processes in which Turkey is
an active player.

Ankara’s diplomacy in the past year has shown that Armenia is taking
an irrational stance. Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions
are still under occupation. On the negotiating table are the Madrid
principles, which have been accepted by Azerbaijan and rejected
by Armenia.

In early April, the chief of Azerbaijan’s presidential administration
came to Istanbul to meet journalists, including Mr. Birand, who had
just gotten back from Yerevan. The meeting seemed to cover all the
pressing issues in Azerbaijani-Turkish relations and the prospects
for Armenian-Turkish reconciliation.

Azerbaijan has been negotiating with Armenia for 22 years and during
that time we have often had to hope for friendly support. We have
grown in strength politically and economically and shown ourselves
to be a regional player. Throughout these years, we have relied on
Turkey’s fraternal support when facing geopolitical and geo-economic
problems and Turkey has never betrayed us.

We can see the same attitude now, when Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan clearly says that there cannot be any change in
Armenian-Turkish relations without achievements in the resolution of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In turn, Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev always expresses clear and open support for Turkey over the
so-called Armenian "genocide."

The Azerbaijani public, parliament and state officials have
strongly condemned the recent decision of the U.S. House Foreign
Affairs Committee. The people spoke out against injustice and the
transformation of history into a means of political pressure. The
Azerbaijani people have always been at Turkey’s side in all important
issues.

When condemning the actions of the U.S. Congress, we remember
that the U.S. legislature still has the anti-Azerbaijani Amendment
907, adopted in 1992, on the books. Under this amendment, Armenia,
which is occupying 20 percent of Azerbaijani land, and unrecognized
Nagorno-Karabakh, receive tens of millions of dollars from the United
States every year, while Azerbaijan is subjected to unjust pressure.

This is a classic case of a double standard.

As a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, the United States could have
made more effort to establish peace in the region.

Justice is a relative concept in present-day international relations.

Fifteen years ago, the U.N. Security Council, of which Turkey is
currently a member, adopted four resolutions on the liberation of
Azerbaijani land occupied by Armenia, but these requirements remain
unmet.

And now, when Armenia is not giving up its aggressive policy or
withdrawing from the occupied Azerbaijani land, why should we change
our attitude toward it? Does anyone really think that if an aggressor
is patted on the head, it will stop being aggressive? Has Armenia
given up its claims to Turkish land or changed its attitude toward
the recognition of the "genocide"? If anyone still considers Armenia
a partner with whom historical consensus can be achieved, historical
practice shows them to be wrong.

Unfortunately, Mr. Birand is still under the wrong impression about
the one summit to which Azerbaijan was not invited. We believe
that the nuclear summit is a starting point in the resolution of
important regional issues. The participation of the Turkish side and
its stated position on discussions about the Karabakh conflict gave
the Azerbaijani side confidence that its interests would be defended
by Turkey. There is a well-known saying, "An uninvited guest should
not be served."

The opinion that Azerbaijan is on the sidelines of discussions about
the destiny of its land seems ridiculous. It is impossible since
Karabakh is our pain and loss. The government of Prime Minister
Erdogan, which pursues an active policy to establish peace and
stability in the region, feels the same pain. I would like to hope
that you, Mr. Birand, feel at least the same grief about the loss of
this land.

Today, the Azerbaijani diaspora in the United States is fighting
alongside Turkish diaspora organizations against the aggressive
intentions of the Dashnaks, who are seeking the adoption of a
resolution on the so-called Armenian "genocide" in the U.S. Congress.

Azerbaijanis and Turks throughout Europe are sparing no effort to
avert Armenian attempts to falsify history. For example, thanks to
the efforts of the Azerbaijani diaspora in the Crimea, the Izum city
council revoked a decision to recognize the Armenian "genocide" before
2010. It was the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, who initiated
the first Forum of Azerbaijani and Turkish Diaspora Organizations of
the World in Baku in March 2007.

Today, Azerbaijanis take pride in their independent statehood and
are happy that present-day Turkey is a strong country and a powerful
regional player. Turkey is a strong player in world politics today and
this encourages Azerbaijan. No one should ever doubt that Azerbaijan
and Turkey will always stand shoulder to shoulder!

* Dr. Elnur Aslanov is the chief of the Political Analyses and
Information Support Department in the Office of the President of the
Republic of Azerbaijan.