Deputy Chair of MHP, MP: “If Armenian leadership says “Yes” to Zangazur Corridor, Armenian people will also get out of poverty”-INTERVIEW

Deputy Chair of MHP, MP: “If Armenian leadership says “Yes” to Zangazur Corridor, Armenian people will also get out of poverty”-INTERVIEW
# 18 August 2021 12:45 (UTC +04:00)

Interview of Deputy Chair of National Movement Party of Turkey (MHP), Deputy of Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) from Erzurum Kamil Aydin with APA’s bureau in Turkey

- Respectful Kamil Aydin, we witness that you pay special attention to the issue of Azerbaijan, Karabakh. We saw it in your speeches in “Karabakh problem in the light of modern events”, panels with theme of Southern Caucasus in Antalya Diplomacy Forum. What is the reason for your Azerbaijan fanaticism?

- I am from Erzurum. Our dialect is Anatolian Turkish, Oghuz Turkish mostly from Baku to Nakhchivan, Igdir, Erzurum, Kirkuk. My deceased mother used to say “beli” instead of “evet”. But if there was not our dialect nativeness, I always stood by Azerbaijan as it is righteous. We had many events, international conferences in anniversaries of occupation of Karabakh districts, Khojaly genocide. Even I joined street matches in London regarding Karabakh earlier.

I also lead the department of foreign relations in our party, I am a member of the foreign policy commission in the Parliament. We should defend the rights of Azerbaijan as much as Turkey's in international organizations and we do so. The Council of Europe includes 47 countries, just Turkey and Azerbaijan from Turkic-Speaking countries are there.

- 2 against 45, is not it difficult?

- Of course, it is. Azerbaijan was accused as an occupant in a report in the PACE. One Italian MP said that we, certainly, will defend Armenia, because Armenia is the first Christian state. It is a terrible position. It is true, we support each other mutually if there is any report regarding Turkey or Azerbaijan. Head of Azerbaijani Delegation in PACE is Samad Seyidov, while head of Turkish Delegation is Akif Cagatay Kilic. We are in a solidarity always at the meetings of the PACE. But Turkey is alone in the NATO. But we should increase the ratio. We face with many attacks. Azerbaijan regularly becomes an agenda after the Karabakh victory. Why? Because although Armenians are not more in communities of France, Italy, and other countries than us in number, they are in prestigious positions, they are heads of municipality, doctors, and teachers. Sometimes it is said that Armenians are strong in French Parliament. In fact, they are not strong, ours are powerless. Ours are getting together newly.

We brought together Turkish Turks and Azerbaijani Turks in America. It will gradually be joined by Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and other Turks over time.

That is why we are very native to each other when we see a Kyrgyz, a Kazakh at meetings abroad, although they are communist.

- In the 44-day Karabakh war, the nativeness, carefulness of other Turkic-Speaking countries were not seen as much as Turkey’s. What is your thought on the Turkic World?

- No, they were also in solidarity, but expressed it just in words. I met with each of them one-by-one at that time. If you remember, TURK PA also issued a statement. Certainly, it was not as much as Turkey. But I am sure this solidarity will be over time.

In 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Turks were becoming aggressive, when they were said their being Turkish. But a Kazakh Ambassador confessed and said that I was angry when you said me Turk at that time, but now I become angry when I am said Kazakh, but not Turk. The Turkic world is sometimes called Turan conception from political essence. But it is not true to relate this to just geography. We say that a Turk living in any part of the world geography is our brother, his grief is our grief, joy is our joy, and sorrow is our sorrow. We have to think so. The ideology of Pan-Turkism, Pan-Turanism is false, it can damage minor Turkic peoples – Gagauz, Crimean, Garachay, Balkar Turks, and others, unity is impossible with it. I came to politics from linguistics and culture fields. We rank 5th place among the mostly-spoken languages in the world. We should have language unity, moral unity.

England said that I do not need the European Union during the Brexit, because there is English-speaking America, Canada, English-speaking communities in the back of it.

An organization called the Commonwealth of Nations tries to keep countries, which were colonies of England earlier, together under a different conceptions. There are many such kinds of organizations – European Societies, the Council of Europe, the UN, etc.

Sometimes this also may be regional. We have proposed a platform of six for the solution of regional problems after the Karabakh Victory. It means that our solidarity should not be understood as Turkism, Muslim grouping. Let there be a regional unity, we said.

I also said at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. The conflict is in the Nagorno Karabakh. There is no need for the UN, European Council, OSCE Minsk Group. Armenia should give decision itself regarding its future, in neighborly relations, especially in the solution of the problem with Azerbaijan, it should not follow the mind of outsiders. If the Armenian leadership says “Yes” to the “Zangazur Corridor”, Armenian people may also get out of poverty. Let me say that Zangazur is the strait of the Turkic world, not only of the Turkic world but also of the regional countries, Asia and Europe. Just as those who pass through Istanbul are opened to the world, so. That is why Armenia must restore neighborly relations in the region without taking advice from the diasporas and lobbies, without succumbing to propaganda. That is, where the problem is, it should be solved with the regional countries. What has been achieved by entrusting this to France, America, and foreign countries? So, Armenia should also come together with the internal regional countries. Azerbaijan, Russia, and Armenia have gathered around a table, a ceasefire was decided and the problem was resolved.

- But Armenia still violates the ceasefire…

This is a peculiar feature for Armenia. 100 years ago, it was also attacking as soon as it had the opportunity, and also now. But Azerbaijan has won the very perfect victory. We have taken the whole world before us, taken away from them what they have possessed for 30 years, and destroyed their economies and policies. That is why they are furious. The party that won the victory should not resort to victorious provocations and should be restrained and should not lose its determination. We must renovate Karabakh. We can be powerful when not only politics, but also science, tradition, education, culture, economy are all together. Everything is in connection with power.

- By the way, how would you characterize the service of Turkish diplomacy in the Karabakh victory?

- This victory has been also possible as a result of the success of the right policy of our presidents Mr. Ilham Aliyev and Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The S-400 agreements between Turkey and Russia, the agreements on Syria, and the peak of Pashinyan’s pro-Western, pro-American sentiment happened at the same time, which provided an opportunity for diplomatic activity. If Russia was against us, this victory would not be easy. Of course, this victory has been achieved with synthesis of the successful diplomatic victory of 44 days.

- Did you go to Shusha?

- I regularly go to Azerbaijan. But this time, when our speaker and MPs went I could not go due to some political issues. Sometimes by staying here, we also support Azerbaijan through our diplomatic activities. But, of course, I will go to Shusha.

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