AZERBAIJANI AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA REFUTES STATEMENTS ON ‘SETTLEMENT OF TERRITORIES OF SECURITY BELT’
arminfo
2008-03-25 11:36:00
ArmInfo. Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloglu refuted
the statements on "settlement of the territories of security belt".
‘We used to drive through the occupied regions, which are unsettled
so far.
I passed several meters and heard only my steps. There was a
burnt field around’, the ambassador said in an interview with
‘Nezavisimaya Gazeta’, talking of the trip of the Armenian and
Azerbaijani intellectuals to Karabakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan. To
recall, the trip was initiated by Azerbaijani and Armenian ambassadors
to RF. ‘After the trip, I was sailed by some political forces of
Azerbaijan, which treated my visit as a betrayal, though both me
and Armen Smbatyan emphasized that we shall not change the policy,
carried out by the presidents and foreign ministries. Of course, we
meet and discuss the problems. As a result, an idea appeared to visit
Karabakh. We also visited Yerevan and Baku where we were received by
Presidents Robert Kocharyan and Ilham Aliyev.
Talking of the UN GA Resolution, the ambassador criticized the position
of OSCE MG co-chairs and expressed an opinion that "it is necessary
to activate the other members’ potential in the new situation". "Of
course, one cannot do without Russia in the region. It is also clear
that no one can do in the world without the USA. However, I think
that the matter may also concern attraction of new players. Why not
to attract the countries of the Eastern Europe, Rumania and Poland,
for example?", the ambassador said. He emphasized the necessity of
searching the points of contact. "We won in the Great Patriotic
War together. That was a great victory. Now, we have to achieve
the people’s living together. We are not aimed at expatriating
the Armenians from Karabakh. We are not aimed at returning Nagorno
Karabakh under Azerbaijani jurisdiction on the rights of autonomy
with the widest authorities". He exampled the Nakhchivan AR:
" We offer the same autonomy for Karabakh. Today, Azerbaijan has
great economic resources. Fund are invested in the republic. The
business opportunities are unlimited. In principle, under a definite
pragmatism, Nagorno Karabakh could be winner if Azerbaijan, Armenia
and the foreign Diaspora assisted it". "Asked about violation of the
armistice regime, the ambassador said that "there are many cases of
such violation during a year". "However, in fact, the armistice is
kept since 1994. I should note that there are no separating troops
or a peacekeeping contingent between us. We keep peace by ourselves,
and it gives hope", the ambassador said.