An influential American newspaper has published a response from the Consul General of Republic of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles Elin Suleymanov to the article by popular analyst David Phillips "Turkey, Armenia, and the Azerbaijan delay" published on 24 May this year.
The author raised the possibility of a "historic breakthrough" for our region, yet he casually mentions the main obstacle to such a breakthrough in passing, says Azeri diplomat.
The real normalization and change to the South Caucasus region will come when Armenia finally ends its occupation of Azerbaijani lands, and close to a million displaced Azerbaijani civilians are able to return to their homes.
It is not Azerbaijan that keeps Turkey hostage, but rather the unresolved state of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, which continues to pose a major threat to peace and stability in the region and undermines Armenia’s own future, writes Suleymanov.
Phillips is correct to call for the Obama administration’s engagement in helping Armenia normalize relations with its neighbors, says Azeri diplomat. The best way to help Armenia is through facilitating a peaceful solution to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict based on fundamentals of international law. Short of that, no academic or enlightened historic debate over symbolism can ensure real progress on the ground, concludes Elin Suleymanov.
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