Interview with Heydar Jemal, chairman of the Russian Islamic Committee and political scientist.
Q: After adoption of the resolution on mythical “Armenian genocide” in the Committee on foreign relations of the US Congress, Turkey has withdrawn its ambassador from the United States. Some time passed and the Turkish ambassador returns to the United States, while the Turkish Premier Erdogan goes to Washington for participation in the nuclear security summit. How would you comment on this situation?
A: The fact proves that Turkey is a self-sufficient and an influential country that does not accept the language of ultimatums and blackmail. The United States cannot risk the complete rupture of relations with Turkey, because this may have negative geopolitical implications for the United States. It is not a secret for anyone that today the agenda includes inevitable growth of anti-Americanism in Asia. These factors are taken into account in the United States, therefore, they are striving to neutralize the resentment of official Ankara caused by the adoption of the resolution on the so-called “Armenian genocide” in the Committee on External Ties of the US Congress.
Q: Along with it, the United States has repeatedly stated the intention to achieve a significant progress in the process of normalization of the Turkish-Armenian relations. There is no risk that by results of the summit in Washington that will involve not only Turkey but also Armenia will take a decision about the promotion of this process but without Azerbaijan’s interests, that is without binding it to the process of the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno Karabakh?
A: I think Turkey may find ways hampering its foreign policy in isolation from the problem of the Karabakh conflict settlement which is turning into a heavy burden for Turkish production. This possibility is also growing because Azerbaijan continues warn relations with Israel which has cool relations with Turkey. Unless Azerbaijan continues maintaining close and strategic relations with Israel, there will always be a risk of tensions in the Turkish-Aezrbaijani relations which can result in the steps not considering Azerbaijan’s interests by official Ankara at least theoretically.
Q: Is Azerbaijan ready for such events?
A: Only time will give the exact answer to this question. I will just express my opinion about this issue. I think that since the moment of appearance of the issue of the Turkish-Armenian normalization on the agenda, Azerbaijan is caught is a kind of a geopolitical “pocket”: relations with Turkey are cooling, relations with Russia are also not ideal while the West is not interested in the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno Karabakh whose existence gives it a lever of pressure on official Baku.
Turkey has recently been the main channel of Azerbaijan’s access to the world and close and strategic relations with this country did not contradict the nature of existing Turkish-Israeli relations. As we know, the situation has changed dramatically: the process of cooling in the Turkish-Israeli relations continues along with the process of normalization of the Turkish-Armenian relations. On the background of the ongoing processes, Azerbaijan must take extraordinary steps. In particular, official Baku must raise interaction with official Tehran by breaking tradition of strained relations with Iran. In addition, Azerbaijan must build ally relations with the Arab state. By changing the system of relations with the neighbors, Azerbaijan will be able to create an opportunity for the sharp, timely and unambiguous strike in the issue of the Karabakh conflict settlement.
News.Az
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