Interview with Nizami Jafarov, chairman of the parliamentary committee for culture in Milli Majlis.
Q: Do you expect major changes in official Ankara’s policy on the region, including on Azerbaijan in case Recep Tayyip Erdogan is elected the Turkish president during the next year elections?
A: The Turkish authorities demonstrate some unity in approaches to a raft of issues, including regional ones regardless of who is in power in Turkey.
Both Erdogan and any other person supported by Erdogan and the ruling party of Justice and Development may run for presidency in Turkey. In other words, in current political situation in Turkey, we can only speak about the election of a man that will be nominated by the ruling party. It means that Turkey’s current policy will remain changeless after the presidential elections in this country. In other words, the policy applied by Erdogan, that is the policy of the party of Justice and Development, will see no changes toward Azerbaijan.
Q: And what changes may occur in Turkish-Armenian relations in case Erdogan is elected?
A: Earlier we witnessed some progress in relations between Turkey and Armenia. So, practically, the ruling party of Justice and Development headed with Erdogan made some gestures to Armenia. But it seems that Turkey does not know Armenia well, which is why it faces the bitter results of its gestures. Turkey that expressed the intention to settle problems in the South Caucasus diplomatically had to face unforeseen problems. In other words, all these gestures proved ineffective making the ruling party revise their policy. Therefore, I expect Turkey not to repeat its gestures toward Armenia but to put some pressure on it. It is clear that the more gestures are shown to the aggressor and its backing forces, the worse. Probably, this formula has already influenced the opinion of the Party of Justice and Development.
Q: The infamous website Wikileaks has declassified new documents unveiling US Secretary Hillary Clinton’s concerns about Turkey’s consolidation and Ankara’s plans to create nuclear weapon. What can be the impact of Turkey’s plans on the region?
A: Strengthening of any country may cause concerns throughout the world. But it does not mean that countries must not consolidate.
As to concerns of superpowers about Turkey’s consolidation, it all comes from opportunistic considerations. The world shows no fears over Turkey’s strengthening, since Turkey is not a patriarchal country or ruled by a single person. It is a democratic country, integrating toward peace. But some countries in the West claim to use Turkey for their purposes. In this case I would not say that those countries are the powers that seek to create harmony in the world.
Q: And how can Turkey’ consolidation influence Turkey’s position in the region?
A: Turkey is Azerbaijan’s friend and strategic ally. Additionally, the relations between the Turkish and Azerbaijani peoples, described as relations between representatives of one nation, rely on strong grounds and ethnic unity. For this reason, Turkey’s consolidation will always be in Azerbaijan’s interests.
Q: How may the South Caucasus region benefit from improvement of Turkish-Russian relations that creates concerns in Armenia?
A: Naturally that Turkey has its interests in Russia. A part of these interests is mostly linked to the fact that Russia accounts for large Turkic ethnicities. Furthermore, Turkey and Russia feel the need for development of bilateral ties with respect to mutual interest in those countries.
In turn, Turkey is of interest to Russia as a country with developed business. Turkish businessmen started their businesses widely in Russia. All the same, Russia’s attitude toward Turkey has never been unambiguous. Russia, as a big country, always laid the emphasis with relations with Turkey when it was necessary to secure its interests in the East.
As for Armenia, it is a country that shows concerns on any issue. Armenia is a formation that seeks to use any tensions in international relations. Armenia’s overall attitude to global problems is not standard or complying with norms of international law. For this very reason, Armenia has always showed concerns about any rapprochement between Russia and Turkey.
Lala B.
News.Az
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