The parliamentary election will be free and fair in Azerbaijan, Jason Katz, the head of the Tool Shed Group (consulting the governments of the foreign countries, NGOs and corporations in the areas of strategic communication and policy), the former spokesman for the American Jewish Committee, based in Los Angeles (USA), told Trend Oct. 30.
Katz said he is happy to be in Azerbaijan and observe democracy in the country.
While commenting on the bilateral relations, Katz said that the US – Azerbaijan bilateral relations are good.
He said that the US recognizes that Azerbaijan is one of the few majority Muslim nations that we can actually call a friend.
“The fact that I am a Jew coming to Azerbaijan regularly speaks for itself, there are not many Muslim majority nations where I would feel comfortable as an American and as a Jew,” he said. “Of course, there are tensions between United States and Azerbaijan, I think it is a misunderstanding of what Azerbaijan is and what is trying to accomplish.”
“Azerbaijan is doing extremely well, also, in terms of bilateral relationship, unfortunately this to pick on the Armenian Diaspora. But the Armenian Diaspora does a lot in the United States to disparage the reputation of Azerbaijan, also to give false information on Azerbaijan.”
“The Armenian Diaspora would like the United States to believe that Azerbaijan is a terrible scary Muslim country, it is just not so,” he said.
Katz also said that the US is interested in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the stability of the region, as this will benefit all.
“Armenia is a nation that has no prospects for the present and for the future,” he said. “After the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenia could become a part of all regional projects with Azerbaijan and Turkey.”
The parliamentary election will be held in Azerbaijan Nov. 1.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council’s four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Edited by CN
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