"Mr. Berman and Mr. Sherman are issuing statements to please the Armenians"

"Newtimes.az" web portal’s exclusive interview with Mr. Novruz Mammadov Head of the Foreign Relations Department of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

– Mr. Mamamadov precisely three days ago you commented on the statement regarding Azerbaijan made by the member of the U.S. Congress Mr. Howard Berman. This just and righteous position of yours has drawn attention far and wide. Following that statement another congressman - Brad Sherman had called on the U.S. to pressure the government of Azerbaijan in connection with the airport to be launched by the Armenians in the Nagorno Karabakh. What is your position on this issue?

– Well, both statements could have been left uncommented. However, there is one interesting aspect that I would like to draw public attention to. Both congressmen – Mr. Berman and Mr. Sherman are vigorously aspiring for one cause. They are running for Congress in several weeks time.

The issue is that they are contending for only one seat in Congress, making them rivals. Both of them are running for Congress from Los Angeles, California. Taking into account predominant Armenian presence and powerful position of the diaspora in the state, everything becomes clear. Both of them, Mr. Berman and Mr. Sherman are issuing statements to please the Armenians and to gain their votes. Luckily, only one of the two will remain in the Congress.

They could not care less, whether or not those statements coincide with the international law and the U.S. foreign policy. This is exactly why, both Mr. Berman and Mr. Sherman issue statements contradictory to the U.S. foreign policy and the international law. They do not wish to understand how impossible it is to bolster peace and prosperity by supporting separatism.

Sherman is not willing to take into account that the U.S. is a co-chair of the Minsk Group of the OSCE, charged with peace building mission and that the U.S. recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. If both Mr. Berman and Mr. Sherman would bother to acquire more extensive knowledge of the Azerbaijan’s regional role, the nature and the essence of cooperation with the U.S. and Euro Atlantic structures, and of how vital this cooperation is, for not only Azerbaijan and the U.S., but also for the evolving global processes in the world, they would not sacrifice U.S. interests for the sake of their own. Regrettably, we frequently witness similar actions taken by other members of the U.S. Congress.