Brenda Shaffer: Armenian provocation is close to infrastructure lines of region

The world's leading media outlets cover the latest provocation committed by Armenia on the border with Azerbaijan and its consequences. 

Asmar Yusifzadeh, an employee of the Azerbaijani Embassy in the US, told Report Ambassador Elin Suleymanov, and Brenda Shaffer, professor at Georgetown University, gave another interview on the John Batchelor Show regarding the tension on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border.

Schaeffer said that the provocation territory is very close to the area where the main infrastructure lines of the region pass. Thus, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the region's central railways, and the Southern Gas Corridor to be inaugurated soon pass here.

Suleymanov said that Armenia's latest attack aimed to increase the conflict's scale and involve more countries. Armenia's latest provocation is not in the occupied territories or on the contact line, but on the Azerbaijani- Armenian border - the internationally recognized border of the two countries. Ambassador recalled that the main infrastructure lines connecting Europe and Asia in the territory said that the recent tensions constitute a significant threat to security in the region. This unexpected provocation committed by Armenia outside the central conflict zone aimed to aggravate the situation in the area for Azerbaijan utmost and to divert the attention of the Armenian people from its internal problems.

Although the conflict seemed small, the ambassador said it was a significant threat to regional and international peace and security, and that Azerbaijan had been appealing to the world community for almost 30 years. Moreover, he stressed that the current status quo violated by Armenia is not sustainable, and the conflict should be resolved soon.

Batchelor was interested in the foreign policy plans of the newly appointed Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov. In turn, Suleymanov said that Mr. Bayramov, former Minister of Education, had achieved a definite comeback in the country's education system and created a very transparent and fair certification system for teachers. He noted the need for extensive reforms in the diplomatic sphere and high expectations in our foreign policy.

Batchelor said he knew Assistant to Azerbaijan's President Hikmat Hajiyev well, witnessed his current debates with Armenian officials, his professional involvement in foreign policy issues, ability to raise Azerbaijan's voice abroad. He called on his auditory to follow Hajiyev, noting that his posts on social networks are very gripping.