Interview with Fazail Agamali, chairman of the Ana Vatan (Motherland) Party and deputy of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis.
Q: US President Barack Obama will meet Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 7 December. What do you think will they discuss?
A: The meeting will focus not only on cooperation between Turkey and the United States but also regional issues. Turkey has recently intensified efforts and is seeking to strengthen not only its relations with neighbouring countries but also its influence in the Caucasus.
People in Turkey understand that opening the borders with Armenia should run in parallel with the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, otherwise, they may lose the Caucasus. Ankara officials understand that they will not move further without the settlement of this issue, as this may create a number of problems for them in future. I think special attention will be paid to the Karabakh issue during the meeting. Naturally it is difficult to predict the outcome of the meeting.
Q: Could this meeting be decisive for the Karabakh settlement?
A: We hope Turkey will stick to its positions, and that statements made in Azerbaijan’s parliament and at meetings in Ankara that it would not open the border until the occupied territories of Azerbaijan are liberated will come true.
Q: Negotiations on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict have recently intensified. Can this conflict be settled in the near future?
A: It is difficult to set a date or time when Armenia may withdraw from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. After all, despite the negotiations Armenia is sticking to its position and in these circumstances there is only only thing we can do — Azerbaijan should be prepared for a military solution to the conflict.
President Ilham Aliyev has said many times that the country should be prepared for war. Armenia is an occupier, but it is regrettable that the leading countries of the world accept this and close their eyes to it. In turn, Armenia makes use of it. The processes in the world show that ultimately we will have to settle the Karabakh conflict by war. To this end, there is a need to strengthen our army and its material and technical potential.
New.Az
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
