Interview with Fazil Mustafa, Azerbaijani MP, leader of the opposition Great Creation Party and a member of the delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
Q: The chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Department, Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, Armenian Catholicos Garegin II and Russian Patriarch Kirill have adopted a declaration following their meeting in Yerevan which calls for peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict. How effective can such documents be?
A: First and foremost, it needs to be determined whether the statement issued by the religious leaders in Yerevan meets the national interests of Azerbaijan. I mean that a statement by the religious leader of Azerbaijan on a par with the spiritual leader of Armenia cannot be considered appropriate for Azerbaijan.
This is because it cannot be considered appropriate for Azerbaijan to sign a document on a par with an aggressor state. I therefore do not believe that this document will prove effective in the conflict resolution since this approach may not fully reflect the reality and interests of Azerbaijan. In other words, the fact that Armenia signs a document of this kind without abandoning its aggressive stance should not be considered a success for Azerbaijan.
Q: Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian religious leaders have also announced that they can help the leaders of their countries resolve the Karabakh conflict. Can the religious leaders help the political leaders adopt a decision on resolution of the conflict?
A: The religious leaders in the region have varying opportunities to influence the political leaders of their countries. Of course, the Armenian clergy has a greater capacity to influence the country’s political leadership, unlike in other countries in the region. The situation in this regard is somewhat different in Azerbaijan, where there is separation between religion and the political authorities. Therefore, one cannot describe religion as a factor able to influence political decision-making.
Q: Do the religious leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia have enough authority to urge their societies to reach a compromise to settle the conflict?
A: Religion and religious leaders have no significant impact on public and political life in Azerbaijan, while religion has serious leverage both on the authorities and public in Armenia. This is because Armenia has a monotheistic concept of religion. This concept is identified only by the presence of the Gregorian Church in the country.
But one should not expect religion to have influence on society in Azerbaijan. Given this, the meeting between religious leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia and the documents adopted by them will not have an impact on the Karabakh conflict resolution.
Q: Will Armenian society follow the calls of their religious leader to reach peace in the Karabakh conflict? Does the church in Armenia have sufficient authority to get the public to follow its calls to compromise?
A: Of course, the religious leader of Armenia can make these statements. In the meantime, I believe that Armenia’s religious leader also takes into account the presence of the Russian factor in this matter. Any Armenian leader who makes such appeals will suffer the fate of ex-presidents Demirchyan and Ter-Petrosyan. Anyway, the Armenian Church does not seem to be able to come up with similar peace initiatives as it is itself is the main instigator of the Karabakh war.
I wonder whether the Armenian Church has changed its views regarding peace in the region over the period that has passed since the active phase of the Karabakh war. However, I doubt it has changed.
At least, the Armenian Church has not so far issued statements proving that it advocates peace. Given this, I don’t think the Armenian Church will make calls for a compromise to achieve peace.
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