Iranian expert notes weakness of Tehran’s policy on Azerbaijan
Zerkalo, Baku
13 May 06
Iranian expert Jalal Mohammadi who is thought to be close to President
Mahmud Ahmadinezhad has said that Iran has not yet forgiven Azerbaijan
for anti-Iranian remarks made during the second congress of the
Azerbaijani diaspora in Baku on 16 March.
In an exclusive interview with the Azerbaijani newspaper Zerkalo,
Mohammadi said that “the anti-Iranian statements made at the second
congress of Azerbaijanis in Baku show the weakness of Iran’s policy on
Azerbaijan and cause distrust between the two countries. Iran has
recognized Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and the fact of Nagornyy
Karabakh’s occupation, whereas Baku allows some suspicious people to
speak out against Iran’s territorial integrity.
Such statements create a good basis for Armenia and other unfriendly
countries to carry out intensive activities against our cooperation.
Iran’s retaliatory reaction to statements that question its
territorial integrity will be known in the future.”
The expert ruled out an orange revolution in Azerbaijan, saying that
the opposition is not supported by the people. Only the US embassy in
Baku supports the opposition, Zerkalo quoted him as saying.
Mohammadi linked the West’s determination to resolve the Karabakh
conflict to internal problems in Armenia and Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan’s
international ties and the geopolitical situation. He said that it is
impossible to liberate the occupied territories at the negotiating
table, Zerkalo reported.
The expert believes that many countries use the conflict in their own
interests, trying to maintain the status quo. He said that they are
not interested in the conflict settlement at all. Mohammadi added that
France, Russia and Turkey want the conflict to continue, Zerkalo said.
“Turkey connects the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict to Armenian-Turkish
relations and interstate problems. Using the fact of Karabakh’s
occupation, Ankara is trying to prove Armenia’s aggressive policy and
defend itself from the psychological and political pressure of the
Armenian lobby which is demanding that Turkey recognize the Armenian
genocide in the Ottoman Empire,” the expert said.