The Russian community and the Republic of Azerbaijan disagree on the assessment of the war in Ukraine

Baku/27.03.22/Turan: On March 25, on the meta-page of the Russian Community of Azerbaijan  (RCA) was posted a statement of full support for the Russian military operation in Ukraine.

The appeal is written in the spirit of the Kremlin's anti-Ukrainian propaganda: “The United States and its allies are doing everything to incite enmity and hatred between the once fraternal peoples - Russia and Ukraine. It is not difficult to say what the country is preparing for when it is armed to the teeth with foreign weapons, when teenagers are taught fascist and nationalist greetings with threats against Russia, when criminals are released from places of detention and supplied with weapons, allegedly to protect the sovereignty of Ukraine ... "

The appeal does not condemn Putin's Russia, which has been destroying the cities of Ukraine for more than a month, massacring its inhabitants. The number of children killed in Ukraine has exceeded 130. The RCA does not report this. The appeal ends with an appeal to the citizens of Azerbaijan to "understand Russia."

The document was signed by the collective author: Republican Council of the Russian Community of Azerbaijan. There is no individual signature, the appeal is confirmed by the seal of the RCA.

Since 1993, Mikhail Zabelin has been the permanent chairman of the RCA, an MP of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th convocations of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Mikhail Zabelin is one of the founders of the permanently ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party (YAP). At the party congress, he was elected a member of the board of  YAP. These regalia of the chairman suggest that the Russian community of Azerbaijan adheres to the same political course as the country's leadership. However, as can be seen from the text of the statement of the RCA, this organization has chosen the political course of the Kremlin.

In comments under the text in meta, the majority of Azerbaijani Russians condemn the authors of the appeal. One of those discussing this document writes:

- You don't understand that "DNR" and "LNR" are Ukrainian Artsakh??? Don't you understand that this letter is a provocation to sow enmity between Russians and Azerbaijanis?! Don't you understand that Putin will come and arrange the same bloodbath here, "saving" the Russians?! Don't you understand that Ukraine has always supported the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and you repaid it with black ingratitude??? You do not understand that you are going against the President of Azerbaijan, who sends dozens of planes with humanitarian aid and free energy supplies to Ukraine?! Aren't you ashamed to write this cowardly letter under which there are not even signatures?! Are you being oppressed and squeezed by someone here? No, your naphthalene branches are given full opportunity to work. And you???? What right did you even have on behalf of all Russians to write this sh@t?!,  writes a resident of Azerbaijan of Russian nationality.

The leadership of Azerbaijan in two official statements indicated the country's position in the political assessment of events in Ukraine. The Republic of Azerbaijan adheres to the policy of neutrality, remaining committed to resolving the conflict in a peaceful way, taking into account the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

The majority of Azerbaijani society is on the side of the Ukrainians, collecting humanitarian aid for Ukraine. Many Azerbaijani citizens of Ukraine are fighting in the army of this country. However, the text of the RCA statement indicates that the Azerbaijani society does not understand the events in Ukraine. We are offered to "understand Russia".

There is no discussed appeal on the RCA website, it can only be found on the RCA meta-page. But a review of the site found an appeal of the Russian community of Azerbaijan from 2015 to the President of the Russian Federation V. Putin:

- Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich!

On behalf of the 120,000th Russian community of Azerbaijan, please accept our heartfelt congratulations on the signing of the act of reunification of Russia with the Crimea! , RCA congratulated Putin.

Note that the Republic of Azerbaijan considers Crimea to be the territory of Ukraine.

On March 27, Turan contacted Firdousi Jahangirov,  M. Zabelin's assistant, asking him to explain the discrepancy between the RCA's position and Azerbaijan's official statements about the war in Ukraine.

F. Jahangirov said that the statement of the RCA is aimed at restoring peace and friendship between the two Orthodox and Slavic peoples. In the statement, the ROA does not call for war, he believes. "Zelensky became a victim of the dirty political game of the United States, plunging Ukraine into war."

To Turan’s remark that Russia is fighting in Ukraine, and not the Ukrainian army invaded Russia, Zabelin’s assistant responded reminding the fact that the largest Russian community of the South Caucasus lives in Azerbaijan, and strategic Azerbaijani-Russian interstate relations.

F. Jahangirov drew Turan's attention to a part of the statement of the RCA about the Russian support of Azerbaijan for the just war of our people in Karabakh. In the end, he stressed: “Zabelin, as an MP, takes the position of official Baku, aimed at a peaceful settlement of the situation and against military operations.”—0—