September 24, 2007 - 15:34 AMT
Azerbaijan eyes Armenia, NKR, Russia and Iran as enemies
"Vafa Guluzade, once a renowned "hawk" in Baku, was plucked and a bit broiled by Heydar Aliyev. Now he is playing up to Aliyev junior. However, it's not his personal ambitions. Guluzade sounds "fresh ideas" if they are meant to please Ilham Aliyev and fit Azerbaijan's foreign policy, which aims at integration with U.S. and NATO and confrontation with Russia," political scientist Levon Melik Shahnazaryan said in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net.

"In this respect, Guluzade's statement clearly reflects the aspirations of Azerbaijan, which eyes Armenia, NKR, Russia and Iran as enemies. I should mention that Azerbaijan is immoderately trying to satisfy its new patrons," he said.

"This statement is a propagandistic canard. I repeat, Guluzade sounds Azerbaijan's foreign ambitions. This republic estranges itself from Russia to please the U.S. Do you remember the headlines of Saturday edition of pro-governmental Zerkalo (Mirror) Baku-based newspaper? The headlines read, "Russia levies war on Azerbaijan and Georgia", "Putin's provocation fails", "New imperial spurt ahead"…

All this is meant to demonstrate adherence to Washington. However, Baku dislikes confessing that the majority of population lives at expense of transfers made by Azeri gastarbeiters in Russia," he continued.

"Azerbaijan's original understanding of geopolitical dualism leads to such collisions," Melik-Shahnazaryan said.

The other day Azeri political scientist Vafa Guluzade said "Azerbaijan had better deploy a couple of divisions in Nakhichevan and aim them at Yerevan and Russian bases in Armenia."

  • Full text of the interview