GREAT AZERBAIJAN – FROM TBILISI TO YEREVAN
This is the way the historians of Baku draw their country on the maps.
A new territorial dispute has started between Georgia and Azerbaijan. This time - because of the Church of the Saint David Gareji, situated right on the border of the two countries. Official Tbilisi was proposing to settle the dispute peacefully – in exchange for the Monastery complex suggesting a bigger land plot on another bordering region. But, evidently, the maintenance of control over the mountain where the Georgian church is situated has become an issue of principle for Azerbaijan. In order to justify its claims on the lands of the ancient monastery, the government of Azerbaijan has mobilized the historians famous for their abilities to falsify the history.
The first construction works started here in the VI century. Then the Georgian kings constructed here several churches that had an important historical and architectural value. During the Soviet times the plateau where the churches were situated was included in the structure of the Azerbaijani SSR, probably because of the problem of communications, because the flank of the hill from the side of Azerbaijan was flat. We shall note that there are no areas populated with Azerbaijanis in the surroundings of the Monastery. Up to now nobody in Baku doubted that the Churches were belonging to Georgia. But now the positions of the political forces that do not hide their claims on the lands of the neighbors – Armenians, Georgians, and Persians - become stronger in Azerbaijan.
A session of the Georgian-Azerbaijani governmental commission on demarcation and delimitation of the state border is planned to be held in the end of May in Tbilisi. There is information that during the session the Georgian side will make suggestion about the territorial exchange that will allow solving the issue on giving back the monastery complex to its legal owners. The Azerbaijani media being ruled from the Presidential cabinet have started a campaign aimed at failure of the initiatives of the official Tbilisi. Almost all the newspapers of Baku published articles naming the ancient Orthodox Church as’’monument of Albanian architecture''. (The Albanians were a nation populating the Eastern regions of the Southern Caucasus before the Turkish invasion. The contemporary Baku sources continue to insist on a hypothesis according to which the Azeris are the successors of Caucasus Albanians).
It is interesting that the journalists draw attention to the military aspect as well. The thing is that the Monastery complex is 800 meters high and can have a strategic importance during military actions. This is what ''Zerkalo'' writes: ''The height of 800 meters is very important for us. From here there is a view to the surroundings of Sagarejo, Rustavi...''. Anyone who will read this will have an impression that Azerbaijan is getting ready for the war with Georgia. Who knows, maybe this could be true, taking into account the fact that Azeris were always attracted by several Georgian territories. One of these days in an interview with ''Echo'' newspaper the Deputy of Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan, the dean of the faculty of history of the Baku State University Yagub Mahmudov said that ''the Azerbaijani part has the right to claim on the part of Georgian territories''. ''Before 1122 Tbilisi was a Muslim city... we have the right of territorial claims to Georgians. But for the moment we do not rise these issues as we have friendly relations with Georgians and we participate in joint projects''.
It is difficult to believe that a political figure representing the ruling party can speak so easily about the claims on the territory of a sovereign country. But this is a fact. The claims on the territory of Georgia have started in the beginning of the last century when the leaders of the tyurks populating the eastern part of Trans Caucasus, proclaiming the creation of independent Azerbaijani Democratic Republic, started to make claims on the territories of Georgia. Besides, the Mussavatists claimed also on Karabakh, Zangezur, Nakhichevan, Northern regions of Iran and the Southern part of Dagestan.
It is not the first year when the official Baku tries to annex several villages of Signakhi and Marneuli regions of Georgia, as well as a large territory surrounding the Red Bridge. And only about the two third part of the line of the state border was achieved an agreement during the numerous negotiations between Georgia and Azerbaijan on demarcation. The other issues are not decided yet. Azerbaijan continues to make territorial claims to its neighboring country.
The territorial claims are being spread also on the lands of other neighbors as well. It does not give up the claims on the oilfields of the Iranian sector of the Caspian Sea. (Last year the attempts of Azeris to start the exploitation of one of those oilfields were almost leading to an armed conflict). Besides, the nationalists of Baku continue to make statements about their claims on native Armenian lands. The “Union of Karabakh Liberation” urged recently to start a war for the regions of Zangezur, Lake Sevan and even Yerevan. This was supported by the Minister of Defense Safar Abiyev who said as follows: “Azerbaijan does not want to have a separated state – I mean Nakhichevan, separated from our main territory. This issue will also be raised tomorrow”.
So, it becomes evident that Azerbaijan making territorial claims on all the neighbor countries, presents a serious threat for stability and security. Evidently, this is being already understood not only by the regional countries but also big powers and the international organizations. But the matter is that no measures for preventing the Azerbaijani aggression are being undertaken.
A session of the Georgian-Azerbaijani governmental commission on demarcation and delimitation of the state border is planned to be held in the end of May in Tbilisi. There is information that during the session the Georgian side will make suggestion about the territorial exchange that will allow solving the issue on giving back the monastery complex to its legal owners. The Azerbaijani media being ruled from the Presidential cabinet have started a campaign aimed at failure of the initiatives of the official Tbilisi. Almost all the newspapers of Baku published articles naming the ancient Orthodox Church as’’monument of Albanian architecture''. (The Albanians were a nation populating the Eastern regions of the Southern Caucasus before the Turkish invasion. The contemporary Baku sources continue to insist on a hypothesis according to which the Azeris are the successors of Caucasus Albanians).
It is interesting that the journalists draw attention to the military aspect as well. The thing is that the Monastery complex is 800 meters high and can have a strategic importance during military actions. This is what ''Zerkalo'' writes: ''The height of 800 meters is very important for us. From here there is a view to the surroundings of Sagarejo, Rustavi...''. Anyone who will read this will have an impression that Azerbaijan is getting ready for the war with Georgia. Who knows, maybe this could be true, taking into account the fact that Azeris were always attracted by several Georgian territories. One of these days in an interview with ''Echo'' newspaper the Deputy of Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan, the dean of the faculty of history of the Baku State University Yagub Mahmudov said that ''the Azerbaijani part has the right to claim on the part of Georgian territories''. ''Before 1122 Tbilisi was a Muslim city... we have the right of territorial claims to Georgians. But for the moment we do not rise these issues as we have friendly relations with Georgians and we participate in joint projects''.
It is difficult to believe that a political figure representing the ruling party can speak so easily about the claims on the territory of a sovereign country. But this is a fact. The claims on the territory of Georgia have started in the beginning of the last century when the leaders of the tyurks populating the eastern part of Trans Caucasus, proclaiming the creation of independent Azerbaijani Democratic Republic, started to make claims on the territories of Georgia. Besides, the Mussavatists claimed also on Karabakh, Zangezur, Nakhichevan, Northern regions of Iran and the Southern part of Dagestan.
It is not the first year when the official Baku tries to annex several villages of Signakhi and Marneuli regions of Georgia, as well as a large territory surrounding the Red Bridge. And only about the two third part of the line of the state border was achieved an agreement during the numerous negotiations between Georgia and Azerbaijan on demarcation. The other issues are not decided yet. Azerbaijan continues to make territorial claims to its neighboring country.
The territorial claims are being spread also on the lands of other neighbors as well. It does not give up the claims on the oilfields of the Iranian sector of the Caspian Sea. (Last year the attempts of Azeris to start the exploitation of one of those oilfields were almost leading to an armed conflict). Besides, the nationalists of Baku continue to make statements about their claims on native Armenian lands. The “Union of Karabakh Liberation” urged recently to start a war for the regions of Zangezur, Lake Sevan and even Yerevan. This was supported by the Minister of Defense Safar Abiyev who said as follows: “Azerbaijan does not want to have a separated state – I mean Nakhichevan, separated from our main territory. This issue will also be raised tomorrow”.
So, it becomes evident that Azerbaijan making territorial claims on all the neighbor countries, presents a serious threat for stability and security. Evidently, this is being already understood not only by the regional countries but also big powers and the international organizations. But the matter is that no measures for preventing the Azerbaijani aggression are being undertaken.
