Former Minister of Internal Affairs of Turkey: "Iran`s demographic structure is open to chaotic situations"

One of the doyens of Turkish politics and state administration, Sadettin Tantan answered the questions of the Turkey office of the Turan News Agency.

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Turan: From what points of view can be evaluated the terrorist action against the Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran on December 27?

Tantan: As I said before, the continuation of the presence of big powers in the region also depends on the continuation of such events that disturb the relations between the countries. Therefore, whatever the reason, such incidents will continue to happen. It is known that the protests that started in Iran in September of last year are still going on. What is the other reason for the terrorist action against the Azerbaijani Embassy? It cooperates strongly with Israel in the liberated districts of Azerbaijan. This may be an example of Iran trying to scare Azerbaijan, which claims to have power in the region, so as not to cause chaotic situations in the demographic structure of Iran in the future.

Turan: After the 44-day war, what is the reason for the Islamic Republic of Iran's policy of constantly increasing pressure against Azerbaijan? How should Azerbaijan give effective answers to this?

Tantan: Azerbaijan was put to sleep until the summer of 2020 by transferring the liberation of the occupied lands and the solution to the Karabakh issue to the OSCE Minsk Group in May 1994. This has mostly benefited Russia and Iran. The USA and France, where the Armenian diaspora is strong, turned a blind eye to the fact that the Azerbaijani lands were under the occupation of Armenia, and water was carried in the sieve for about 30 years. Decisions and resolutions at the international level have not been implemented, and Azerbaijan ended up being wrong although it was 100% right. What conclusion can we draw from this? As if the lands occupied by Armenia, which became a state a little before this era, were not enough, it fell in love to lay claim to the majority of the lands of Azerbaijan. Unfortunately, the big countries that try to take advantage of such situations use countries like Armenia in their colonial policy in the region. Therefore, Turkey should also learn from them. When we look at the Sykes-Picot Agreement and the Treaty of Sèvres, we see that many things were dictated to us at that time as well. We, Turks, cannot receive our rights without a fight. Therefore, the Organization of Turkic States, which was established 13 years ago, needs to look at these issues from a wide window and take decisive steps toward uniting forces.

Tuan: Regardless of the characteristics of the regimes in Iran, the Republic of Turkey always pursues a careful policy towards the neighboring country and tries to avoid a crisis. What position should Turkey take in this tension between Iran and Azerbaijan?

Tantan: From the Treaty of Qaṣr-i Shīrīn signed in 1639 until today, we have followed a careful and sensitive policy in our relations with our neighbor on the Eastern border. However, the opposite side, in line with its current policy against Azerbaijan, previously supported the PKK terrorist organization and some religious organizations inside and outside the country and took a position against Turkey. It cooperated with Turkey after seeing that the terrorist organization would cause trouble for itself. In the current situation, Turkey should put its own interests at the forefront and carry out its policies calmly. Today's hostile policy against Azerbaijan may be carried out against other Turkic states tomorrow. Turkey should analyze this well and get the Turkic states to take steps together.

Turan: Despite the fact that Azerbaijan has been warning Iran for years since it supports the occupying Armenia, in recent months, Iran has both strengthened its support for the occupier and increased the tension by not hiding its concern about the projects that Israel has started to implement in the liberated districts of Azerbaijan. What would you like to say about it?

Tantan: It is possible to summarize the issues in this way:

• Iran's demographic structure is open to chaotic situations;
• Realizing that it is isolated in the Middle East and Transcaucasia like Russia, it has been maintaining friendly relations with Russia and Armenia since the beginning of history;
• Since it considers itself dependent on Russia, as in the field of nuclear energy, it is obliged to conduct a common policy in Transcaucasia. That is why it is trying to oppress Azerbaijan;
• One of the most important conditions for mutual cooperation is to prevent the Turanian Union, which can be created in the territory of the former USSR.

Turan: What steps do you recommend to be taken as soon as possible to bring eternal peace to the Caucasus, Middle East, Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and Caspian Sea basins?

Tantan: First of all, the countries of the region should sign peace and cooperation pacts among themselves, and those which are not part of this pact should be excluded from cooperation. Cooperation in the economic, military, and political fields should be supported by projects that will lead to the development of people's well-being. Issues of joint development should be implemented within the framework of the principle of respect for the territorial integrity of countries.