ARMENIA ITSELF SUFFERS FROM THE CONFLICT

-Mr Cetin, you extend great support to the Azerbaijani diaspora. In 1992, you were the first Turkish foreign minister to visit Azerbaijan. What are your memories of Azerbaijan of the time as it had freshly gained independence?

- To me Azerbaijan is the second homeland. I was the first Turkish foreign minister to visit Azerbaijan after it gained independence. Since 1992, I have been with Azerbaijan in good times and in hardship. Together we went through difficult times, the Xocali tragedy and the Karabakh developments. When I was the minister, the situation in Azerbaijan was very difficult. I was greatly concerned about the difficulties happening here. Azerbaijan had only recently gained its independence. There was no bread, sugar or medicine there. To make things even worse, there was the war and Azerbaijani lands were under occupation. Many of those woes are now a thing of the past.

- What is Azerbaijan like now, as compared to those years?

- As a modern state today Azerbaijan is a role model, a regional leader. Irrespective of what posts I held, I cooperated with all the Azerbaijani leaders - Ayaz Mutallibov, Abulfaz Elcibay and the great statesman, Heydar Aliyev. Now I continue cooperating with Ilham Aliyev.

Heydar Aliyev became the leader of Azerbaijan at a very difficult period. His country was being torn apart. However, he managed to preserve the unity and integrity of this country and ensured a ceasefire. In a short period of time Azerbaijan became a member of many international organizations.

Had somebody said 22 years ago that Azerbaijan would become a member of the UN Security Council this would have seemed funny. Yet today it is among the first nine countries, with the exception of the five permanent members of the Security Council. During Ilham Aliyev's presidency, modernization gained great momentum; incomes from the oil and gas sector are used for the future generations. Azerbaijan's politics and economy are not attached to the energy sector alone. Even if the energy resources run out I believe that Azerbaijan will remain a modern, developed country.

- Has there been any progress in the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict over the past 20 years?

- The Nagornyy-Karabakh conflict is one of the major problems not only for Azerbaijan but for the entire region. I am well familiar with the difficulties Azerbaijan has overcome. Unfortunately, there is no progress to be observed. The good news is that there is no war and blood is not being shed. The OSCE Minsk Group of which Turkey is also a member, has failed to do anything. Karabakh and adjacent Azerbaijani territories are still under occupation. Over one million people have fled their homes and the world is not too concerned about the conflict resolution. Armenia itself suffers the most from this. Azerbaijan is speedily developing and 80 per cent of the region's economy comes on Azerbaijan. Therefore, Armenia has lost great opportunities. When there is unity and stability for regional development, borders become irrelevant.

Germany and France fought with each other but then founded the European Union together and the borders there became irrelevant. It is important to strive to this in our region too, which is one of the most important regions in the world. Therefore, it is important to take at least one step towards the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. Everything cannot be solved at once.

- The OSCE Minsk Group proposes a gradual resolution of the problem on the basis of the Madrid principles. However, Armenia's unconstructive position hampers this.

- The world is not fulfilling its obligations in this respect. I believe that the USA and Russia can play an important role in this. Certainly, Turkey always stands by Azerbaijan but the USA's and Russia's role is very important. The USA should rid itself of the Armenian lobby.

-Is this possible?

- The Armenian lobby should be told that this will benefit Armenia itself. The Armenian lobby enjoys great privileges in the USA. However, Armenia itself experiences economic problems and unemployment. The lobby is not interested in peace. If peace prevails they will lose their influence.