Robert Ilatov: “We don’t have a quarrel with the Turkish people…”

Israel is now entering the period of autumn religious festivals, when all other life in the country stands still for a month. Nevertheless, one Israeli MP, the member of the Israeli-Azerbaijani relations parliamentary group Robert Ilatov, agreed to give an interview to Vestnik Kavkaza. He commented on the prospects for development of Azerbaijani-Israeli relations and the possible effect of the Israeli-Turkish crisis on them.

- Mr Ilatov, how would you characterize the level of current Israeli-Azerbaijani ties?

- I would say that they are not only intensive, but also have many dimensions. I mean that interaction exists not only at government level, but also between our countries’ parliaments and other official structures, as well as between our peoples. I visited Baku half a year ago, attending the opening ceremony of a Jewish school. The Israeli delegation included Jewish businessmen from many countries, while Azerbaijan’s President himself was present at the ceremony. And this very presence tells you a lot, you understand. The Azerbaijani Ministry for the Diaspora is also very active in Israel, as well as the ‘Aziz’ social organization, whose purpose is to assist migrants from Azerbaijan. So our contacts are really very vital on many levels.

- How do you think Baku sees the Turkish Ambassador’s words, calling it to follow Turkey’s lead in relations with Israel?

- I think that Turkey should manage on its own in its foreign policies and assume responsibility for its acts without interfering in others’ affairs. Azerbaijan is an independent state and it defines its national interests on its own. Right now everything indicates that Azerbaijan made the right decision regarding its relations with Israel. We have a lot of corresponding economic, political and even strategic interests. We are enjoying a friendly and warm relationship. And I’m sure Azerbaijan is as interested in their development as we are.

- You maintain contact with your Azerbaijani colleagues. What’s their opinion on this Turkish-Israeli conflict?

- I’d say they accept it with a great deal of pain. Azerbaijan is very close to Turkey and friendly relations with this country are vital to it. At the same time, Azerbaijan values its right to lead an independent foreign policy without looking back at Ankara.

- So the anti-Israeli hysteria that spread across Turkey didn’t contaminate Azerbaijani public opinion?

- To tell you the truth, there is no such thing as anti-Israeli hysteria, even in Turkey itself. So why should it spread to Azerbaijan? We don’t have any conflict with the Turkish people. The conflict is with Turkey’s PM Erdogan and extremist milieus supporting him. Their position, however, isn’t supported by the people. This is obvious from the fact that the volume of economic relations between Israel and Turkey has been constantly growing over the past year, despite the crisis. I think this is a sufficient proof that the Turkish people aren’t interested in conflict with Israel. I hope this strategically incorrect policy can still be changed.

- Does this cooling of relations with Turkey open any new prospects for Israel’s relations with Azerbaijan?

- I don’t want to create the impression that these two things are connected in any way. I repeat, we have no conflict with the Turkish people. We want our relations to return to normal. And we are equally interested in developing our relations with Azerbaijan. The prospects are great, but they are not in any way connected to the state of our relations with Turkey.

- One of Israel’s possible counter-measures to Erdogan’s actions is said to be the official recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide of 1915, as well as support for Armenia’s territorial claims in Turkey?

- I don’t think that we should use blackmail like Erdogan does. Especially in such delicate matters. We don’t want to be involved in the relations of the Turkish and Azerbaijani people, they should settle their problems via the appropriate international bodies. We are not one of those bodies. It reminds me of the Palestinians’ addresses to the UN. But some issues can only be resolved between the two peoples involved, mediatory interference won’t help.

-Thank you for the interview.

Interview by Peter Lukimson