Yesterday in Moscow at a press conference of the All-Russian Congress of Azerbaijanis titled ‘Public Initiatives in Support of Russian-Azerbaijani Relations" special attention was paid to the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. A member of the International and the Russian Union of Journalists, the head of relations with diplomatic information structures of TASS, Saadat Kadyrova, expressed her view that the position of some of the information structures of Russia cannot be an indicator of the official position of the Russian Federation.
"I am a citizen of the Russian Federation. Moreover, I have never lived in Azerbaijan, and I was not born there. But it is my historical homeland, and I have some serious concerns about the fact that the recent provocations and the resumption of hostilities could lead to very serious consequences. Large Armenian and Azerbaijani diasporas are living in Russia. I condemn those ‘colleagues’ who, under the guise of journalism, present and distort information about the conflict. I specifically phoned the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, and she clearly commented, even asked to refer to her, that the Russian Foreign Ministry strongly condemns those journalists who allow themselves this distortion. She said that some publications have even allowed themselves a very strange thing, voting who is for Azerbaijan and who is for Armenia,’’ Kadyrova said.
According to her, yesterday's visit to Baku by the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is an indicative step by Russia towards a rapid, immediate settlement of the conflict. "This suggests that Russia is not interested in military actions continuing, in soldiers being killed, in hostilities being renewed. But we must remind that there are four UN resolutions that call for the immediate liberation of the seven occupied districts around Karabakh. And Armenia, as one of the parties of these resolutions, has failed to comply with these resolutions so far. Now, as far as I know, there is a new agreement in which Karabakh is already not a third party to the conflict, as had been stipulated in previous resolutions. This is a very serious political breakthrough Azerbaijan and for Russia, which supports the negotiations and agreement."
Saadat Kadyrova urged Azerbaijanis in Russia to come together and put global matters higher than private ones: ‘We have to forget about what is happening within us, we must unite, not yield to provocations, and just the example that the Azerbaijani leadership is showing us. An example of how honorably we can behave, by ending these hostilities and ceasing fire. It is an indication of goodwill, an indication that Azerbaijan does not want to fight civilians, does not want bloodshed, wants to reach the common sense at least of the part of the Armenian society that wants to hear the truth, which also acts on the side of the truth, and once again sit at the negotiating table. it is necessary to continue these negotiations, which should put an end to this serious and long-term conflict."
The head of the Chuvash regional branch of the All-Russian Azerbaijani Congress, Aziz Badirov, believes that the ethnic strife inflated by the media harms Azerbaijanis, Armenians and Russia. "The media outlets that promote a one-sided position bother the Azerbaijanis who live in the Chuvash Republic. Chuvashia has 128 nationalities. This is an example for all Russian regions. The point is that the attitude is the same towards everyone there. We love Russia. I am a citizen of Russia. But I have a small homeland. I am from Karabakh. I was born in the Kelbajar district, where there were no Armenians. Now the area is under occupation, and I cannot go to the cemetery, to my ancestors. I lived in Charektare, my parents live in the Terter district. After missiles, many houses there were completely destroyed. But Azerbaijanis are not against the Armenian people."
Aziz Badirov said that "no other nation was as devoted to Russia as Azerbaijanis, We hosted Novruz Bayram, a man, very respected in Chuvashia, came there, and when he listened to mugham, Azerbaijani music, he said: "And I've been thinking, why Azerbaijanis do not have terrorists. With this kind of music, these people can't be terrorists." "When guests arrive to Azerbaijanis, they are treated the best, the best bed, but when the guests leave, the host asks them to shake out their boots. Why? Because the earth can’t be a gift!"
