Ilgar Mammadov

How would you comment on the adoption of the resolution recognizing the killing of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey as ‘genocide’ in the US House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee?

Democracy is not a mechanism drawn up to generate decisions of genius, but rather a mechanism that prevents governments from taking too many foolish decisions. In that respect, the committee vote was a gross error in the functioning of American democracy. On the other hand, the vote showed that Armenia’s attempts to falsify history do not hold anymore: in 2007 the Turkish and Azerbaijani view had less support in the same committee.  This year the draft resolution was passed by a single vote – 23 against 22.  It would be a particular shame for the legislature to dictate the past when opinions are so divided, not only among historians, but also among legislators themselves.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during her visit to Central America that the US Congress would not consider ‘the Armenian resolution’. Does thismean that the congressmen who adopted the resolution acted on their mercantile interests rather than the national interests of the United States?

I do not see any reason for the US administration to keep this resolution going. It needs to be stopped, not only from the point of view of ethics and common sense, but also from the practical perspective. America will compromise both its national interests and its relation to global security and prosperity if it opts to satisfy the appetites of a few voters living with this 19th century agenda. Azerbaijan has shown an unprecedented level of solidarity with Turkey on this matter, and this solidarity will only grow in the future.

Why do you think Howard Berman, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, who said that he had been raising the issue of the Armenian genocide for 27 years in Congress, ignored Turkey’s proposal to Armenia on a joint study of the historical facts?

He himself knows the best answer to this question.

Do you agree with the thesis that the US recognition of the ‘Armenian genocide’ will benefit Turkey, as it will remove the threat of recognition that hangs over Ankara every year?

No, because all the efforts that the Armenian diaspora currently make toward recognition of the myth would be directed towards claiming ‘retribution’ from Turkey. That would be even more inappropriate. The sooner we – Turkey and Azerbaijan – finish this issue, the better for us and for the US global mission, which we recognize.

Akper Hasanov
News.Az