Avigdor Lieberman: "From the point of view of international law, historical facts and interests of Israel, the truth is on the side of Azerbaijan"

Fierce clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan continue for the third day in Nagorno-Karabakh. As a result of the hostilities, there are casualties among the military and civilian population on both sides. In Baku, responsibility is laid on Armenia, in Yerevan - on Azerbaijan. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres held talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, calling on them to cease fire. On September 29, the UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on the situation in the conflict zone (it will be held behind closed doors). Meanwhile, Turkey has said it will provide Azerbaijan with whatever support it needs, no matter how far the conflict goes. Jerusalem is officially neutral in the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict. However, the former Foreign Minister and ex-Minister of Defense of Israel, leader of the NDI party Avigdor Lieberman believes that "from the point of view of international law, historical facts and, most importantly, the interests of the State of Israel, the truth is on the side of Azerbaijan." In a September 29 conversation with a Vesti-Israel correspondent, the politician explained why he thinks so.

- Israeli politicians are usually extremely cautious in their assessments of conflicts outside the country. However, this time you are quite clear in favor of one of the parties. What caused this position?

- I understand that each of the warring parties has its own vision of this long-standing conflict, its causes and driving forces. The historical perspective shows that even before the creation of the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh was a part of Azerbaijan almost all the time. In modern history, this conflict entered an active phase in 1988, when, on the wave of perestroika and glasnost, the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, which was part of an autonomous region in the composition of the Azerbaijan SSR, openly demanded annexation to Armenia. This reached its high point  in 1994, when the so-called Karabakh war began - a full-scale armed conflict that claimed almost 30,000 lives. After that, the conflict took on a chronic stage. To resolve the conflict within the framework of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the so-called "Minsk Group" was created, co-chaired by the United States, France and Russia. Against the background of modern threats to humanity (the migration crisis, the corona virus pandemic, nuclear Iran, etc.), the Nagorno-Karabakh problem seemed to have faded into the background - to the margins of world politics, but it has not gone anywhere. Expectations of positive shifts that were associated with the election of Nikol Pashinyan to the post of Prime Minister of Armenia (and he is the first prime minister not associated with the clans in Nagorno-Karabakh) did not come true. There was  no progress, and, on the contrary, Pashinyan took the toughest position, stating that Nagorno-Karabakh is Armenia. And full stop. - However, in Yerevan they say that the majority of the inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh are Armenians, and they want to be part of their homeland. Isn't it logical? - At the same time it is reported that the Armenians captured seven regions that have nothing to do with Nagorno-Karabakh. It is quite understandable that in such a frozen state, the conflict cannot exist for a long time, and sooner or later escalations will occur. This is exactly what happened. From the point of view of international law, Nagorno-Karabakh is the territory of Azerbaijan. That is why not a single UN country (including Armenia itself) recognizes the sovereignty of Nagorno-Karabakh.

- And from the point of view of Israel?

- From the point of view of Israel, the State of Israel, the situation looks like this. First, Azerbaijan is one of the most tolerant countries towards Jews. The good attitude towards Jews on the territory of Azerbaijan has not changed over the centuries. Even in the midst of the Soviet anti-Semitism, there was no anti-Semitism or prejudice against Jews. Secondly, after the creation of the independent Azerbaijani state, relations with Israel were at the highest level. Azerbaijan has proved itself as a serious, reliable partner, which has never violated its obligations on bilateral relations and behaved very restrainedly in the international arena. Therefore, from the point of view of historical facts, international law and Israel's interests, our position is extremely clear. And it was very consistently implemented all this time - regardless of who was at the head of the Israeli government, who was the foreign minister. Thus, the topic of Azerbaijan, the attitude towards Azerbaijan is in the consensus of the Israeli political establishment. We support the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, believing that without the restoration of this territorial integrity, there can be no talk of a settlement in the region.

- The Israeli media express concern about the involvement of Turkey and Erdogan in the conflict on the side of Azerbaijan. How should this be viewed from Israel?

- Azerbaijan is historically located at the junction of three, former empires - Persian, Ottoman and Russian. This is a very tangled mess. And now this entire historical triangle is again in motion. It is clear enough that Turkey unconditionally supports Azerbaijan, and Iran supports Armenia. And in this case, the Turkish-Iranian differences are manifested in a new quality - I think that Israel will not express much sadness about this. Most likely, Turkey, Iran and Russia will carefully check their steps in this conflict.

- The UN Security Council plans a special meeting on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Are there any reasons to expect any serious decisions?

- First of all, it will be a closed session of the Security Council. The very fact of the appointment of such a meeting once again convinces us that there are no frozen conflicts. There was such a proverb in Russia: "Until the thunder breaks out, the man will not cross himself." There is no need to constantly wait for the thunder to strike. Any frozen conflict explodes at some point. This is simultaneously correct both in relation to Nagorno-Karabakh and in relation to our conflict with Hamas and Hezbollah. There must be a solution to everything. Otherwise, a chronic conflict turns into a frozen one, and a frozen one - into hostilities. I would not expect any progress after the UN Security Council meeting. I don't think you need to invent anything new here. There is the "Minsk format", within the framework of which many good proposals have been worked out. Apparently, the co-chairs of the group - the United States, France, Russia - need to take a more active role and broadcast a clearer position.

- And nevertheless Jerusalem they keep silence about this ...

- It is clear that Israel does not want to interfere. Nevertheless, I repeat, our relations with Azerbaijan are broad, deep, strategic, while with Armenia they are at the minimum level. We view Azerbaijan as an example of a modern Muslim Shiite country with which we have very close relations. Therefore, I repeat, we fully support the position of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. And from all points of view - historical, international and national interests - this is Israel's official position.