Prominent Turkish investigative writer Galip Turkmen has disclosed an interesting fact concerning the Karabakh issue.
Globalinfo.az reports that he shared an incident he witnessed during a visit to Azerbaijan in 2007.
Turkmen described what he saw as “Azerbaijan’s state reflex”:
“In 2007, an official visit to Azerbaijan was organized as part of the National Security Academy’s curriculum. The deputy commander of the Turkish Military Academies also took part in the trip. I believe his rank was lieutenant general. We were welcomed at the airport at a very high level, with special protocol.
During the program, Azerbaijan’s deputy defense minister gave a briefing. He spoke about the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline and the Karabakh conflict. Referring to the British stake in BTC, our general remarked regarding the Karabakh issue: ‘Now the British can solve this problem too.’
I thought to myself, ‘Oh no!’ The Azerbaijani delegation did not react at all at that moment. However, only a few delegates attended the dinner that evening. Meanwhile, our general took out his frustration by forcing our young colleague to drink wine. Following this, the Azerbaijani side dialed back the attention they had been showing us, and by the end of the trip, they gave us a cold send-off.”
Recalling this incident, the Turkish writer emphasized that Azerbaijanis are extremely sensitive to interference directed at their country.
Notably, on February 1, 2007, Azerbaijan’s former Defense Minister Safar Abiyev received the deputy commander of the Turkish Military Academies, Lieutenant General Selahattin Ugurlu, and his delegation. Brigadier General Seyhan Ceyhan, Turkey’s military attaché to Azerbaijan, also attended the meeting. It is widely believed that the Turkish general Turkmen referred to is Selahattin Ugurlu.
Aliyar Khalil
Globalinfo.az
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