"Killer's presence in Baku was very suitable for Armenian secret services"

As you know, gunman Farda Gadirov killed 12 and injured 13 people in the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy a year ago on April 30. During the legal proceedings, Public Prosecutor Abdulla Yusifov said that the law enforcement agencies are searching for a Georgian citizen of Armenian origin Martin Gumashyan, who ordered the mass shooting in the first place. How would you comment on another Armenian track in the terrorist attack against the civilian population of Azerbaijan?

We can put forward our own predictions. But bodies that investigate the matter have the concrete evidence. But at the same time, I note that that there are different forms of terrorism.

Gaining independence after the collapse of Soviet Union, Armenia, providing full support to the policy of terrorism at the state level, turned terrorism into one of the main ways of carrying out its aggressive policy. Numerous facts and materials of judicial investigations show that all terrorist acts against the civilian population of Azerbaijan were funded by the Armenian authorities and implemented by special services of this country.

A total of 13 people were killed and 42 were wounded in an explosion at an electric train between "28 May" and "Ganjlik" metro stations of Baku on July 3, 1994. This terror act was committed by Azerbaijan citizen Azer Aslanov. He was taken prisoner and was later recruited by the Armenian secret service for secret cooperation on January 13, 1994.

One can also bring a huge number of examples how Armenians carried out attacks against peaceful Azerbaijani population, exploding buses, trains, helicopters. So, one cannot exclude involvement of the Armenian side to the tragedy in ASOA.

According to the investigation, Farda Gadirov was recruited by the Armenian side in Georgia. Can we say that this neighboring and friendly country unwittingly becomes a place of recruitment of Armenian individuals to commit terrorist acts in Azerbaijan?

To begin with, Armenian secret service recruit persons to commit terrorist acts in Azerbaijan not only in Georgia. For example, a passenger train standing on a siding at Baku railway station was blown up on June 2, 1993. The perpetrator of this crime Igor Khatkovsky was hired in one of the regions of Russia, then received training in Armenia, after which he was sent to Azerbaijan.

Farad Gadirov was recruited by the Armenian side on the territory of Georgia because he is a native of this country and Georgia is very close to Azerbaijan and is home to many Azerbaijanis who often come to Azerbaijan to visit relatives and friends. So, Gadirov’s presence in Baku was very suitable to the Armenian secret services.

How Azerbaijan can counter the threat of Armenian terrorism?

There are interstate treaties on protection against terrorist attacks on specific strategic facilities, for example the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. In addition, there are agreements between Azerbaijan and a number of states, in particular with Georgia on cooperation in combating terrorism. Under this agreement, Georgian special services must inform the Azerbaijani side of the possible attacks on the territory of our country and recruitment of persons for this purpose. Similarly, Azerbaijan should also share this kind of information with Georgia.

History of Armenian terrorism has many cases when diplomats in third countries became victims of terrorism. Does it mean that domestic diplomats working in different countries are at risk of becoming victims of Armenian terrorists?

Such a threat can never be ruled out. The Azerbaijani special services should take control of the diplomatic representation of Azerbaijan in various countries around the world working actively with the local security forces in this matter.


/Day.Az/