Azeri official condemns Armenian aide’s remarks on president
Day.az, Azerbaijan
Dec 23 2006
23 December: The head of the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry, Tahir Tagizada, has described as odious the statement made
by the press secretary of the Armenian president, Viktor Sogomonyan.
Tahir Tagizada made the following comment on Sogomonyan’s statement
in an exclusive interview with Day.az:
"It is funny to hear the Armenian side talking about aggressiveness
and tactfulness. This looks like the old proverb about the person who
does not see a tree in his own eye, but can see a straw in somebody
else’s.
"The ideas of self-assertion and compensation for a lack of
confidence sound odious, especially in view of Armenia’s modern
history and in the light of traditions of an illegitimate rise to
power. Moreover, this statement was made by a person whose direct
boss has stooped to such a level that his own foreign minister
disavows his statements within the framework of the negotiating
process.
"It is also notable that even the most out-and-out opponents of
Azerbaijan’s national leader Heydar Aliyev recognize his wisdom. It
would be good if the former citizens of Azerbaijan who now represent
the Armenian leadership learnt this wisdom themselves," he pointed
out.
[The Armenian news agency Mediamax quoted Sogomonyan as saying on 22
December that "aggressive statements" made by Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev on the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh problem are
"a specific way of self-assertion and compensation for his lack of
confidence".]