Vafa Guluzade: "Azerbaijan and Armenia once agreed independently, while the response of steemed-up Russia was shooting Armenian parliament members dead"

- The meeting of Presidents of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia will soon be held by the initiative of the Russian President in Moscow. What can be expected from this meeting?

- I think nothing will be attained. Moscow is merely demonstrating its supremacy over other members of the Minsk Group. When Russia was de facto excluded from the Minsk Group, US representative Matthew Bryza and then French representative B.Fassier, though he defended Russia, speaking much of its remaining the Minsk Group Member, visited the conflict region. And now Russia proves in a response to these visits that it can invite both presidents to Moscow.

Russia's proposal can not be targeting normal resolution. Moscow can only propose liberation of several or even all seven regions around Nagorno Karabakh provided that Russian armed forces are deployed there, that is offering to replace Armenian occupation by Russian.

Russia will never agree on the deployment of international forces there, otherwise, it would have arranged this actions along with Americans and French. Russia must deploy its 58th army in Karabakh. But is it suitable for Azerbaijan?

- Well, Azerbaijan has once rejected the idea of the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the area of the Karabakh conflict, which is now recalled with gratitude by all those, who really want the soonest resolution of the conflict.

- This was the resolution of the OSCE Budapest summit which did not allow Russia here. I was present in this summit and in this very summit Russia was trying to attain a mandate for the unilateral deployment of troops into Karabakh. At that time all the European countries rejected this proposal and decided about deployment of international armed forces in the region with Russian troops not exceeding 20% if I am not mistaken.

But the representatives of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry list the agreement according to which the peacekeeping contingent will not include Minsk Group member-states in the future, among issues on which Baku and Yerevan could agree.

- Armenia does not want Turkey to be represented there and speaks for Russia's participation. Then what about Azerbaijan's interests?

- I would not want to base on gossips. I can only say that today Russia is in a hard state due to the world economic crisis, drop in prices on oil and it wants to do something profitable for itself. It wants to seize control over Azerbaijan and that is the point. But it is not profitable for Azerbaijan to be controlled by Russia. It is profitable for us to remain independence and attain liberation of its lands on the basis of international laws.

- Does it mean that we should not expect anything good from Russia's attempt to intercept the initiative on the Karabakh settlement?

- Exactly. Russia can only offer Madrid proposals and Armenia speaks for them. It means that today Russia is so week that Armenia can reject all its proposals and make them public, get rid of Russian control and orient the West, driving Russian troops away from its lands. Armenia is aware that Azerbaijan does not intend to attack it.

- Will the confrontation between Russia and the United States damage the resolution of the conflict?

- This confrontation is now displayed in a verbal form. Assistant US Secretary of State Fried has recently said: "The parties must be ready for difficult decisions", as if he said something new, while in fact he repeated the words, which were previously said by many others, especially Americans.

What does "difficult decision" mean for Azerbaijan? It means to surrender Nagorno Karabakh. Why does Azerbaijan, which was subject to aggression and occupation, have to surrender its lands? And what does it mean for Armenia? Americans seem to consider that the agreement for a referendum is a difficult decision for Armenia.

I think those who propose it would better start packing things before presidential elections in the United States, for Bush's team will leave. Bush has failed in everything not only in his country but also in Afghanistan, Iraq and other regions of the world including Azerbaijan, within the whole period of his presidency.

- And what about the opinion that the United states will try to settle the Karabakh issue on a script different from that used in the case of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as a revenge for Russia's unilateral actions?

- The United States will try to settle the issue not in Azerbaijan's favor, for Americans try to seize control over both South and North Caucasus. Therefore, the United States will wait to the time, when Russia will collapse in the face of the economic crisis. Dagestan has already suffered seriously especially the internal forces of Makhachkala. Fire exchange is also heard every day in Ossetia. The North Caucasus will explode soon. What will Russia do? What will it fight then?

- Perhaps, common sense and the intention to settle the Karabakh knot without mediators will prevail in Armenia in conditions of such clashes between the United and Russia?

- Why then hold talks in Moscow? Let the presidents agree and hold talks on a neutral area, like Heydar Aliyev held talks with Kocharyan in Switzerland and Moscow was in rage. I remember this time well. Russian ambassador Blokhin did not know what to do and asked me: "What are they talking about there? Why don't they inform us?" It was an attempt to agree, bypassing Russia and the response of Russia was shooting members of Armenian parliament dead.

Aliyev and Kocharyan really agreed then. If their agreement had not been undermined by Russia, our seven regions around Nagorno Karabakh would have been free since 1999. The agreement of the Presidents on this issue was exclusive: they agreed that Armenia will leave without any conditions and Azerbaijani army take their place.

Now no one wants to speak about as everyone wants the deployment of their so called "peacekeeping" forces there.

/Day.Az/