"When West stops being so biased to Baku, there will be chance for peace"
Rachel Avraham for Caliber.Az

INTERVIEWS  12 September 2023 - 10:14

Caliber.Az presents its interview with Rachel Avraham - CEO of the Dona Gracia Center for Diplomacy and Israeli journalist.

- To what do you attribute the growth of the aggressive anti-Azerbaijani campaign, which is now being conducted in the world by the Armenian lobby and pro-Armenian figures?

- I attribute it to the strong hatred Armenians have towards the Azerbaijani people. Because of this, they do everything in order to make sure that Azerbaijan faces problems at the international community.

- By the way, the pro-Armenian lobby has recently become active in Israel as well. Does it have a chance to influence the close Azerbaijani-Israeli relations?

- If the left comes to power in Israel, it definitely has the chance to influence Israeli policy. If Yair Lapid ever became a prime minister - he is very pro-Armenian - and this could make Israel take a U-turn in policy. They also have a chance on the local level in areas where the left controls power. Like they got Armenian genocide square in Haifa.

- Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmat Hajiyev was recently in Israel, where he not only held fruitful meetings with Israeli politicians and diplomats but was also received by Prime Minister Netanyahu. What does this indicate? Is it a sign of Israel's special favour towards Azerbaijan?

- I think that Israel and Azerbaijan have excellent relations and they are only getting stronger and stronger. I was at the Herzliya conference where the deputy foreign minister of Azerbaijan was also featured as a speaker. I was with Isaac Herzog when he gave a wonderful speech at Heydar Aliyev Saray in Baku. And also, Netanyahu has been to Azerbaijan before as well. So, I think yes, this is a definitely sign of growing ties between the two, and it's only become stronger since the embassy opened. So, it will get stronger in the future.

- How do Israelis and, in general, Jewish people around the world feel about the blasphemous attempt of Armenian propaganda to equate the tragedy of the Holocaust and the supposed "humanitarian catastrophe" in Garabagh?

- There are some left-wingers and the diaspora, especially in France and some in the US who buy to Armenian propaganda. But rightly Jews generally do not buy to it and especially Israelis won’t ever believe in such propaganda.

- You have visited the liberated territories of Azerbaijan and seen the devastation brought by the Armenian occupation. Why do you think the Armenian occupiers barbarously destroyed and looted Garabagh? And how do you assess the pace of reconstruction of the Garabagh region by Azerbaijan?

- They completely destroyed Garabagh because of their hatred of Azerbaijanis. They destroyed Garabagh for the same reason that the Bosnian genocide occurred, the Rwandan genocide occurred for, the same reason that the Holocaust occurred, it’s due to the hatred of Azerbaijani people - racial hatred.

The reconstruction can never be fast enough. I think Azerbaijan is putting all its efforts, working around the clock. Armenians created so much damage that it could take Azerbaijanis at least 30 years or anything to make life simply normal in Garabagh, if not longer.

- You study the problem of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. What is your opinion - Is reconciliation between the two nations possible in the foreseeable future or is a new war still inevitable?

- I don’t think that reconciliation will be possible as long as the Armenian diaspora remains so vigilant in the entire Azerbaijan. The separatists have a kind of power in Garabagh. Once these two groups are completely silenced, there will be a chance for peace. And also, when the West stops being so biased towards Azerbaijan then there will be a chance.

Farah Mammadli

Caliber.Az