Nasib Nasibli: "Most of our compatriots, residing in Iran, consider themselves to be Iranians, not Azerbaijani"

Official Baku, being loyal to its rhetorics, calls Iran a friendly state, but at the same time it is well aware that Iran is not friendly to Azerbaijan, said former ambassador of Azerbaijan to Iran Nasib Nasibli, commenting on the statement of Iran's FM Manuchokhr Mottaki, who said Armenia and Iran are real friends.

According to him, Azerbaijan has no mechanisms for prevention of deepening of the Iranian-Armenian relations. He said official Baku has no right to demand explanations on the said issue from Iran, as Iran, like any independent state, has a right to hold an external policy, responding to its national interests, especially when the establishment of relations with neighbor Armenia is implied.

Nasibli said that though Iran accounts for tens of millions of Azerbaijanis, Azerbaijanis in Iran are subjected to discrimination.

"Certainly, ethnic Azerbaijanis may reach high leading positions in Iran. For example, Ali Khamenei, who occupies a post of the Supreme leader of Iran, is Azerbaijani. But he reached this post not because he is Azerbaijani, but because he is a citizen of Iran.

I am confident that representatives of official Baku should more frequently raise the issue of discrimination of Azerbaijanis, residing in Iran. And in this connection it should be noted that the Azerbaijani representative in UN has twice voted against resolution on the violation of rights of national minorities in Iran. In other words official Baku rejects the fact of discrimination of Azerbaijanis residing in Iran.

After such a behavior of official Baku, the question about the reasons of the current state of our compatriots in Iran can not be raised", said Nasibli.

He noted that the reason for which about 30,000,000 Azerbaijanis in Iran are discriminated is because of their low level of national consciousness.

"Most of them consider themselves to be Iranians not Azerbaijanis", said Nasibli and added that the growth of national consciousness of Azerbaijanis in Iran is not a threat of separatism.

"Nothing prevents Iran from being a multinational state! Thus, for example, Switzerland is a democratic multinational country where the rights of national minorities are not violated. Iran can also follow this way", concluded Nasibli. 

/Day.Az/