Ilham Aliyev: “The possibility of a velvet revolution is ruled out in Azerbaijan”

So said Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in his June 28 interview with CNN Turk’s news coordinator, Gurkan Zengin.

“Relying on love and respect of the people of Azerbaijan [towards me], I meet my obligations fearlessly and with confidence,” Aliyev stressed. He also added that every nation has its own history. “Therefore domestic political processes differ from one country to another.”

Aliyev said that the change of leadership in the Ukraine is the result of the accumulated problems between the people and authorities. “There is no ground for orchestrating any revolution in Azerbaijan,” the president said.

He also noted that there is minimal foreign influence on Azerbaijan’s interior. According to Aliyev, frequent visits to Turkey by Azeri opposition leaders don’t cause any concern in the ruling circles, as “they [opposition] are not serious rivals to the ruling authorities.”

Meanwhile, Aliyev also touched the current process of peaceful talks over the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani ethnic conflict over Karabakh. According to Aliyev, the results of the latest round of talks are “encouraging.”

Aliyev thinks that there is not any other way for the Armenian side out of the conflict rather than moving on talks. “Azerbaijan is ready to grant the Armenian community in Karabakh privileged rights and security guarantees. I am sure that the given problem will be settled in this context,” Aliyev stressed, noting that he “believes the resolution of the Armenian Azerbaijani conflict will be possible without any bloodshed.”