Lala Shovket: "Independence and sovereignty of Azerbaijan means nothing to the Kremlin leaders, who are ready to come with arms in their hands to our houses, like they did in Georgia"

- Do you think that recognition of independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia by Russia has become possible due to the absence of a real pressure on the Kremlin by the West?

- Recognition of independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia by Russia is not only the challenge to the whole world society but a total mistake of the working leadership of Russia. By the said open support of separatism, Russia has led itself to conditions of international isolation, demonstrating itself as a blood-thirsty and aggressive empire, which does not care about any international norms. Russia showed that it can occupy a part of an independent state without caring about the opinion of the world society.

I am sure that its actions will return like a boomerang to it, for there is already a threat of separatism in Ingushetia, Chechnya and further in Bashkiria and Tatarstan in this country.

But I agree that Russia's decision to recognize independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia became possible mostly due to the slow reaction of the West to the growing empire ambitions of the Kremlin. I consider that the West bears a moral responsibility for the current hard state in Georgia, which openly announced its striving to NATO.  

But at the NATO April summit in Bucharest the NATO states decided not to present the Membership Actions Plan to Ukraine and Georgia. In the result, Georgia has faced occupation of a part of its lands by Russia. The West partially bears responsibility for it, as it chose a policy of appeasement in a dialogue with Russia. The same was its attitude in the case of fascist Germany and we all remember how it ended for the world.

- But is the West ready for an open, military confrontation with Russia?

- I do not think the West will do it. But Russia will be fully isolated from the world society and economic and political sanctions will be imposed on it. At the same time, no one in the world, except for several insignificant players on the world arena, will recognize independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

- Do you really think that the Russian leadership did not take into account the possible negative consequences of the military aggression against Georgia and recognition of independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia?

- In order to answer this question, it is necessary to take a trip to the recent history. As is known, in 1968 the Soviet Union entered Czechoslovakia and in 1939 it annexed a part of Finland. In other words, the victory of the empire ambitions over the sense of reality has always been a visit card of the Kremlin, official Moscow. This is also the visit card of the present-day Putin-Medvedev's Russia.

- Then how far might the Kremlin go in its empire policy?

- Undoubtedly, the ambitions and revanchist intentions of Russia are limitless. The next country, the Kremlin targets on, is Ukraine. The world society, challenged by Russia, which recognizes the right for force, should realize it. The people of brother Ukraine, whom Russian tries to divide into two campuses, adhering to the principle "divide and empera" should also realize it.

- Can Russia's promises be trusted, considering Medvedev's announcement that Moscow does not plan to interfere with the conflicts in the territory of other former USSR states?

- Never. Winston Churchill once said that all agreements with Russia are not worthy of a paper, they have been signed on. We now see that he was right considering the fact that Russia openly ignores all international norms.

Therefore, we all should realize that Azerbaijan is in danger. We all see that Russia is aggressively moving towards its goal, which is a total control over the whole South Caucasus region. Independence and sovereignty of Azerbaijan means nothing for the Kremlin leaders, who are ready to come with arms in their hands to our houses, like they did in Georgia.

- Is our opposition ready to unite in this hard moment around working president of the country Ilham Aliyev, like Georgian opposition did?

- If today President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev chooses accession to NATO, in favor of Azerbaijan's closing to West, then not only me but the whole Azerbaijani opposition will be ready to support the working President, as the stake is the national interests of Azerbaijan, which are above anything else to all of us.

/Day.Az/