Oqtay Sadikh-Zade: "Tbilisi's "policy of neglect" towards the separatist spirit of the Armenian population of Georgia can be the order of the United States"

-How would you comment on the facts, pointing out the Armenians' creeping aggression of Georgian lands, inhabited by ethnic Azerbaijanis?

-Such information is sad but not surprising, as Georgia has always been close to Armenia in the cultural sense than to Azerbaijan. And all those, who state that the economic and political ties between Azerbaijan and Georgia are developing more rapidly than between Georgia and Armenia.

Moreover, Georgia, who is in much poorer state that Azerbaijan, openly declares intention and makes definite steps for accession to NATO, Euopean Union and other international organizations, much earlier than Azerbaijan.

This proves that the vanity of the Georgian leadership promotes its steps, based on the intention to achieve maximal results of itself, without looking behind on the state of those countries, to whom they appeal for help, at the first signs of deterioration of economic and political problems.

-What should official Baku do to settle existing problems?

-I ideal, great work should be carried out for protection of rights of our compatriots in Georgia. And this special work should be empowered to the State Committee for work with Azerbaijanis, residing abroad. Great work could be carried out by representatives of different NGOs, which contact their Georgian colleagues, representatives of local mass medias, attaching special attention to existing problem.

On the whole, complex of measures, which could have illustrated possible powerful pressure on Georgia by Azerbaijan, is necessary. But this can be in ideal. But in the real life we should not forget that despite the deepening relations between official Baku and Tbilisi our country has not so many ways of influence on Georgia, therefore, we can not hope that Azerbaijan will be able to put pressure on official Tbilisi.

By the way, the excessive closing of Azerbaijan and Georgia, their transformation into a powerful military and political tandem is not profitable for the West. Therefore, Azerbaijan should also not hope for the assistance in the said issue.

-But West is the West that Armenians have repeatedly demonstrated their claims for Georgian lands. Why doesn't official Tbilisi stop the creeping aggression of Georgian lands, inhabited by ethnic Azerbaijanis, by Armenia and does not understand that tomorrow Armenians will declare their claims on Georgian lands in open?

-I agree with you that Armenians, unlike Azerbaijanis, who have never had any separatist spirits, always claimed on the lands of all neighbor states, including Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. It is not a secret that Armenians state their territorial claims on Samtse-Dzhavakhetia, which is an ancient Georgian land. I am sure that Georgian authorities are also aware of it.

But let's not overestimate their abilities. It is more likely that the West, where Georgia wants to integrate to, insists on its making concessions to Armenia to snatch it out of the area of Russia's complete influence.

This means that Tbilisi's "policy of neglect" towards the separatist spirit of the Armenian population of Georgia can by the order of the United States.

/Day.Az/