AZERIS LIE BRAZENLY: DIRECTOR OF CENTER FOR CAUCASUS STUDIES
news.am
Jan 19 2010
Armenia
Pan-Turkism ideology advocated by Caucasian Tatars — thereafter called
Azerbaijanians brought about Armenian massacres, Director of the Center
for Caucasus Studies at MGIMO Vladimir Zakharov said, speaking at
the Jan. 19 seminar dedicated to 20th anniversary of massacres in Baku.
According to him, though Bolshevik Party banned activities of all
nationalist groups, nationalism has always existed in Azerbaijan.
Moreover, hatred against Armenians passed on from generation to
generation and in present Azerbaijan the image of Armenian as an
enemy is created at the national level.
Speaking of the Soviet leadership stance in the first years of
Karabakh conflict, Zakharov stated that Mikhail Gorbachev was handling
a complex problem of the Soviet Union collapse. As a result he adopted
a wait-and-see attitude advantageous to Azerbaijani side.
The expert also pointed out the weaknesses of Armenian authorities
in conveying the truth of Karabakh conflict to international community.
Zakharov emphasized that counteraction policy against Azerbaijan’s
misinformation should be carried out at the state level. In particular,
a special fund should be created to translate the appropriate
literature into foreign languages.