The Faculty of Philology of Armenian State Pedagogical University today hosted Eduard Sharmazanov, Vice-Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly, an ASPU graduate.
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During the meeting with the University’s teaching staff and students, Mr. Sharmazanov delivered a lecture on “Turkey-Azerbaijan alliance as a threat to the regional security.”
In his speech, the NA official referred to the Turkish government and its policy of Armenian Genocide denial, as well as to Turkey’s military, financial and economic aid to Azerbaijan.
Eduard Sharmazanov stressed the fact that the ideology of Pan-Turkism has always been in the core of Turkey’s state policy. After the collapse of the USSR, when a number of Turkic republics became independent, Turkey came to realize that it had a good opportunity to achieve its goals.
“In the early 1990s, Turkish Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel announced that the unity of Turks and Azerbaijanis will open a route from the Aegean Sea to China. This is a bright example of Pan-Turkism ideology,” said Mr. Sharmazanov. He then cited the words of Vehib Pasha, a general in the Ottoman Army, who said, “The destiny draws Turkey from the West to the East. We must extend toward the East; our blood, our religion, our language is there, and you, Armenians, are standing in our way."
The Vice-Speaker of the Armenian parliament further spoke about the formation of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 1918, which, he said, was created in the result of Turkey’s military intervention, with Caucasian Tatars forming a minority in the country. “Azerbaijan’s Declaration of Independence adopted in 1918 used the term ‘Azerbaijani peoples’ and not “Azerbaijani people” which means that Azerbaijan was only the geographical name given to the country where Caucasian Tatars, Lezgis, Armenians, Jews, Russians and Persians lived. Under the 1936 Stalin Constitution, Caucasian Tatars began to be called Azerbaijanis,” he said.
Eduard Sharmazanov says there are numerous documents evidencing that Turkey supplied arms and ammunition to Azerbaijan during the Nagorno-Karabakh war. Russian and Western press reports also mentioned the fact. It is not accidental that Turkish Air Force Brig. Gen. Yasar Demirbulak was military advisor to the then president of Azerbaijan Abulfaz Elchibey.
“Today, Turkey is trying to interfere in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal by linking the re-opening of the Armenian-Turkish border to the resolution of the Karabakh conflict. Turkey must finally realize that it has nothing to do in the peace process because of its originally pro-Azerbaijani stance,” Sharmazanov said in conclusion.
