EFFORTS MUST BE CONTINUED

Last week Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received a delegation headed by the executive director of one of the oldest and most prestigious Jewish organizations in the USA, the American Jewish Committee (AJC), David Harris. During the interview the conversation turned to the development of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and the USA and reference was made to the importance of the delegation's visit to the country from the standpoint of holding fruitful discussions linked with the broadening of cooperation. David Harris shared his view of the possibilities of this broadening of cooperation with R+.

- We would like to know your opinion and summing-up of the latest visit and the results of the negotiations.

- We had a splendid visit. All the meetings we had were warm, friendly and productive. This is the AJC delegation's fifth visit, going back to 2008. During each of them we have been struck by the marked progress made in the economic and social spheres.

- During this visit you met not only with the president and representatives of the Azerbaijani leadership, but you also visited the ADA University and chatted to the young people there. To this extent, how do you see the future of Azerbaijan, which is situated in a complex region, full of conflicts?

- The opportunity to speak before a hundred students of ADA University was one of the most striking moments of our visit. Wherever I go I always try to meet students. In Azerbaijan I was impressed by the magnificent campus of the university and the students who were so intelligent, well-informed and had a good knowledge of the English language. Judging by these young people, Azerbaijani diplomacy will be in reliable hands for many years to come.

- The Azerbaijani diaspora is working closely with the Jewish community in the USA. What do you think of the current level of cooperation between the diaspora and the AJC?

- Warm and friendly relations have developed between us. To be frank, one of the leaders of the Azerbaijani diaspora was even included as a member of our delegation. His love for Azerbaijan and America makes him an ideal bridge between the two communities and countries. We are looking forward to deepening these relations in the years to come.

- Still, occasionally one comes across tendentious reports in the American media which do not reflect the true picture of things in Azerbaijan. Recently, the number of such reports has increased notably. Do they have a strong impact on the perception of Azerbaijan in the USA and what can be done to overcome this?

 - In America no-one can stop anyone writing or publishing anything. So the best answer to this, in our view, is for Azerbaijan to make more efforts to tell its story, presenting those important aspects of life in the republic which may not be so accessible to the American public. In today's world solving this task is made much easier because of the accessibility of various means of communication. For example, Azerbaijan can and must acquire a multi-million audience through the social media.

- We would also like to hear your opinion about Azerbaijan's main problem, by which I mean the occupation of part of the country's territory. The Azerbaijani authorities and the diaspora are focusing a lot of attention to this question, but we are still witnessing double standards in the West's attitude to this problem and to what is happening in Ukraine. For example, whereas sanctions are being made against Russia, we don't see the same thing in relation to Armenia. How can you explain this difference in approaches to the same problems and can we expect any positive changes in the future?

- I would like to be able to give a simple answer to this question, but I can't. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions but we see a lack of any appreciable progress and reasons for concern regarding the possibility of an even greater escalation of tension. Azerbaijan is one of four post-Soviet countries that have suffered territorial losses, which should be absolutely unacceptable in the 21st century.

- Summing up the present state of Azerbaijani-American relations in general, do you agree they are not passing through the best period of their history?

- Unfortunately, bilateral relations are not as strong as we would like. But we shall continue our efforts to emphasize Azerbaijan's importance for America's national interests. We need to take a positive look at this secular state with a Muslim majority which is standing together with the United States in the fight against terrorism, is a key factor in providing regional stability and is a major exporter of oil and gas and also offers a model of inter-regional coexistence. All this should be considered in a positive way and there is still much to be done in this regard.