Tofik Zulfugarov: "One of the tension boosters is Sergei Lavrov"

Baku / 26.07.17 / Turan: Former Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Tofiq Zulfugarov commented on Turan the results of the meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia in Sochi, as well as security issues in the region.

Question: What was the need for the Sochi meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia? What do you think about its results?

Answer: It is worth noting that the meeting was unusual. That is, its preparation and details were not widely discussed. However, it seems that very important and operational issues were discussed. According to official information, Nagorno-Karabakh and security issues in the region were discussed at the meeting. From this point of view, if we connect these two topics, we will see that the main issues of discussion were the situation in the region, the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict and tensions between the two countries. Unofficial information was also disseminated, according to which the Russian side confirmed the presence of a third force, which harms the Azerbaijani-Russian relations. Part of this force is inside Russia. This was a very important issue under discussion. It is necessary to accept this information. In any case, I'm one of those people who takes this information as close to the truth. Because in fact the source of the tension that arose a few months ago is concentrated in the Russian Foreign Ministry. The analysis shows that one of the drivers of this tension is Lavrov (Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov - editor.) As is known, his position is seriously criticized by the public. And I was one of those critics. I believe that ethnicity has led to an unbalanced position. Of course, this, in turn, was a big hindrance in the process of settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani confict.

Question: Ilham Aliyev met with Vladimir Putin after the meeting of the Azerbaijani President with the US Secretary of State, as well as the presidents of the United States and Russia. In your opinion, will all this be a reason for taking positive steps in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?

Answer: I think that yes, because the issues discussed with the US representative and the Russian president indicate that one of the main topics is the situation in the region and ways to ensure security. We all understand that the Armenian-Azerbaijani Conflict is one of the biggest obstacles to stability and cooperation. From this point of view, I believe that the discussions will yield their results.

Question: After the incident in the village of Alkhanly Fizuli region on the front line, it seemed as though there had been a succession of ways. What is the reason for this? Can we talk about new encouraging moments in the negotiations?

Answer: These tragic events show that the countries of the region, both Azerbaijan and Armenia, have come very close to a large-scale war. From this point of view, the preceding polyactivity is devoted to these topics. Naturally, everyone understands that after all these events the probability of war looks very real. The meeting organized by the presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia so urgently shows that this issue is taken seriously not only by the politicians of the region, not only in Azerbaijan, but also by world leaders.

Question: In the near future, the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars road will be completed, which will be used by the states of the region from China to Europe. At the same time, the north-south transport corridor will be realized. What changes in the political and economic position of Azerbaijan will these projects bring?

Answer: It should be noted that these are very important economic and political projects. From the geographical point of view, we are very close to an unstable region (Middle East.) The implementation of such projects will bring economic benefits and political dividends to Azerbaijan, and will also send positive impulses to the unstable region. I believe that this will be a great success for Azerbaijan. -0-