Chairman of the Party of Justice, Law, Democracy (AHD), Member of Parliament Qudrat Hasanguliyev answered the questions of the party’s press service.
elchi presents the interview:
– Mr. Qudrat, President Ilham Aliyev sent a very sincere and warm congratulatory letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the occasion of October 29 Republic Day. What can you say about the future development of relations between our countries?
– I also join the President’s congratulations. The President notes in his congratulatory letter that with the Shusha Declaration, our relations have reached the level of alliance and gained new content and essence. The President has previously stated that we are members of the Turkic family, one nation, two states. There may be disagreements between the authorities, and even at some point in history, as during the Soviet Union, great powers may separate us from each other again, but this cannot end our brotherhood. We are natural allies, one nation.
– Can the midterm elections in the US affect US-Azerbaijan relations?
– Unfortunately, the Congress, which is currently controlled by Republicans, did not repeal Amendment 907 to the “Freedom Support Act” in 1992, during the Elchibey government, which banned state aid to Azerbaijan. The Republicans did not want to confront the Democrats because of us. If they want to, they still have two months to remove that injustice.
It is already inevitable that the Republicans will lose the House of Representatives in the midterm elections. The probability of losing the Senate is also not small. We should never forget that Azerbaijan liberated its lands from occupation during Trump’s presidency, and he met it with understanding. Unlike the First Karabakh War, we were not subjected to sanctions by the US. But as I have said many times before, we should cooperate with the US, but we should be neither friends nor enemies. Because being enemies with the US is dangerous, and being friends is deadly scary. The “friendship” of Ukrainian President Zelensky with the Biden administration has today become a serious threat to Ukraine’s future and territorial integrity. As political polarization in the US has reached the level of enmity, every new administration ruthlessly punishes those who were friends with the previous administration. Trump has two years left, and hopefully, by then, we will be able to regulate relations with the Democrats.
– How did you receive Pashinyan’s latest statements regarding the peace agreement?
– Nothing depends on Pashinyan. He is a pawn on a big chessboard. We need to agree with Russia for the peace agreement. If Russia wanted, we would have signed the peace agreement long ago in 2020-25, and the Zangezur corridor would have been restored under Russia’s control. If the peace agreement is signed with the participation of Russia and Turkey, peace will be more solid and long-lasting.
– Can Netanyahu’s departure from the post of prime minister lead to peace in the region?
– This is a matter that depends more on the will of the United States.