Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry supports Russia's position on Syria

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan supports Russia's position on the settlement of the Syrian conflict and the role of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov said in an interview with Die Presse.

"We have witnessed the collision between coalitions in Syria. As a part of the Islamic world we are very concerned about what is happening in Syria. We are concerned about the deepening schism between Sunnis and Shiites. Adherents of different religions live together in Azerbaijan without any problems. I believe that Russia's air strikes are not effective in Syria and rather expensive. But ground operations are too risky and will lead to large losses," Minval.az cited him as saying.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad today is the only guarantee of security and Syria's territorial integrity: "His army is a legal institution. We welcome the political process, during which Assad would remain in power until elections," Araz Azimov said.

"But if Assad will decide to leave tomorrow, we do not mind. We are supporters of the process of comprehensive stabilization. We are against all kinds of ground operations, as the deployment of troops of any coalition in Syria means an even greater chaos," the deputy head of the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan explained.