DENNIS SUMMUT: "I DO HOPE THAT YEAR OF 2008 WILL CONTRIBUTE TO PEACE IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS"
Today
itics/42562.html
Jan 23 2008
Azerbaijan
"I do hope that year of 2008 will contribute to peace in the South
Caucasus", Dennis Summut, chief executive of British LINKS, said
commenting on the situation in the region.
He noted that there is nothing extraordinary with his visit and he is
going to meet with representatives of the parliament and with other
partners in Azerbaijan.
Asked for his opinion about the initiative of a group of Azerbaijani
and Armenian Parliamentarians to pay conjoint visit to Nagorno
Garabagh, he said there are a lot of initiatives in this field. He
considers all ideas bringing the peoples of the two countries to
cooperation, to be positive.
"Noting this, it is necessary to stress than any such initiative
must be elaborated, considering the delicacy of the issue. In other
words, if such initiative is developed in time, I can regard it only
as positive".
He also commented on criticism regarding Azerbaijan’s intensified
militarization and increased expenses for defense: "Each country
has a right to choose its own ways, necessary to ensure its safety
and security, in accordance with its rights and duties. Therefore,
no one is criticizing Azerbaijan for such actions. Each country
decides itself about how much it will allocate for defense and for
other needs. The opinion that the security of the country depends on
the number of available tanks and planes is old-fashioned. Provision
of security in the 21st century is a more complicated issue, which
requires a complex approach".
He said Azerbaijan’s long-term security depends on the capability to
establish relations with its neighbors and ensure duly integration
of all the layers of the population with the society, rather than on
the number of tanks and aircrafts.
He also touched upon the issue of forthcoming presidential elections in
Armenia and Azerbaijan and its possible influence on the negotiations
regarding Nagorno Garabagh. He said elections may suspend the process
or encourage it as candidates to presidents come out with good programs
on the conflict settlement and they may achieve success.
Anyway, he noted that he does not consider it necessary to stop
negotiations on Garabagh for the period of elections.
"Everyone in Baku and Yerevan states that the Garabagh problem unites
rather than causes clashed within the society. There aren’t much
differences in the positions of the leadership and opposition of
Azerbaijan and Armenia regarding Nagorno Garabagh problem".
He said all political leaders should assure their voters that they
speak about Garabagh feeling responsibility but not for the short-term
political games, which protract the process.