Yesterday the head of Rosneft visited Baku, where he discussed realization of joint projects in extraction and processing of oil on the territory of Russia and Azerbaijan with SOCAR's head Rovnag Abdullayev. Both officials were received by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who gave a high rating to the current state of cooperation between Rosneft and SOCAR and expressed hope for further intensification of their efforts.
Ambassador Bulbulogly described other aspects of Russian-Azerbaijani relations in a recent round-table conference dedicated to the Independence Day of Azerbaijan: “Diplomats are doing all they can so that high-level visits would determine our relations today. But what matters is not the number of visits, it is what is happening during the visits, the meetings, what negotiations, what ideas are said. The meetings of the presidents in Sochi and Astrakhan are important milestones. Russia and Azerbaijan are presidential republics, and presidents have full authority and power. Of course, contacts of the presidents emanate some sort of impulses that we work on later.”
Events in Ukraine and the Middle East affect Russia and Azerbaijan. “We all see what is going on in the Middle East. We all see what is going on in Ukraine today. We need to create mechanisms that will counteract this. It is not that easy, it requires consideration, it requires time, big funds. Of course Azerbaijan is thinking about it, of course we are monitoring it all and think about it. Today many thoughtful people are inclined to the failure of Ukraine to find its Heydar Aliyevich [Aliyev]. Maybe that is why all the events develop in such a negative course. If they had such a national leader who could consolidate the country, take the right decisions, evaluate the forces, potential, maybe things would have been somewhat different,” supposes Bulbulogly.
He recalls how Azerbaijan faced similar processes in the early 1990s: “Heydar Aliyevich jugulated the processes, he managed to consolidate the nation. But the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains an unhealed wound. It is hard to talk about common development without his decision. Today maybe Armenia is more interested in resolving the conflict, because it is in isolation, a gridlock. And here, of course, the role of Russia, as well as the Minsk Group, is great. Everyone understands this, because Russia has been the main state in the region for centuries.”
According to Bulbulogly, no one denies that Armenia is a partner of Russia, they have historical ties, no one is opposed to that. But the ambassador reminds about an aphorism: “Plato is my friend, but truth is a better friend.” “I think that at some stage Russia should say: “You are my friend, but truth is a better friend. You occupied foreign territories, they should be freed.” It has not been said out loud yet, the conflict impedes us, development of the region will continue. No one should hold a stone behind his back. That is why the problem of restoring order in one's own region arises in counteracting common threats today,” Bulbulogly said.
Polad Bulbulogly: “Without its resolution, it is hard to talk about development at all”Yesterday the head of Rosneft visited Baku, where he discussed realization of joint projects in extraction and processing of oil on the territory of Russia and Azerbaijan with SOCAR's head Rovnag Abdullayev. Both officials were received by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who gave a high rating to the current state of cooperation between Rosneft and SOCAR and expressed hope for further intensification of their efforts.Ambassador Bulbulogly described other aspects of Russian-Azerbaijani relations in a recent round-table conference dedicated to the Independence Day of Azerbaijan: “Diplomats are doing all they can so that high-level visits would determine our relations today. But what matters is not the number of visits, it is what is happening during the visits, the meetings, what negotiations, what ideas are said. The meetings of the presidents in Sochi and Astrakhan are important milestones. Russia and Azerbaijan are presidential republics, and presidents have full authority and power. Of course, contacts of the presidents emanate some sort of impulses that we work on later.”Events in Ukraine and the Middle East affect Russia and Azerbaijan. “We all see what is going on in the Middle East. We all see what is going on in Ukraine today. We need to create mechanisms that will counteract this. It is not that easy, it requires consideration, it requires time, big funds. Of course Azerbaijan is thinking about it, of course we are monitoring it all and think about it. Today many thoughtful people are inclined to the failure of Ukraine to find its Heydar Aliyevich [Aliyev]. Maybe that is why all the events develop in such a negative course. If they had such a national leader who could consolidate the country, take the right decisions, evaluate the forces, potential, maybe things would have been somewhat different,” supposes Bulbulogly.He recalls how Azerbaijan faced similar processes in the early 1990s: “Heydar Aliyevich jugulated the processes, he managed to consolidate the nation. But the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains an unhealed wound. It is hard to talk about common development without his decision. Today maybe Armenia is more interested in resolving the conflict, because it is in isolation, a gridlock. And here, of course, the role of Russia, as well as the Minsk Group, is great. Everyone understands this, because Russia has been the main state in the region for centuries.”According to Bulbulogly, no one denies that Armenia is a partner of Russia, they have historical ties, no one is opposed to that. But the ambassador reminds about an aphorism: “Plato is my friend, but truth is a better friend.” “I think that at some stage Russia should say: “You are my friend, but truth is a better friend. You occupied foreign territories, they should be freed.” It has not been said out loud yet, the conflict impedes us, development of the region will continue. No one should hold a stone behind his back. That is why the problem of restoring order in one's own region arises in counteracting common threats today,” Bulbulogly sa
