Presenting a united front in the face of attacks by the Armenian lobby, Azerbaijani and Turkish consul generals to the US recently met with Pakistani-American community leaders to condemn the unfounded attacks.
Can Oguz and Nasimi Aghayev, the Turkish and Azerbaijani consuls in Los Angeles, respectively, held the meeting virtually on March 4, they announced in a statement late Tuesday.
At the event, Aghayev expressed his gratitude for Turkey and Pakistan’s political support for Azerbaijan’s struggle for justice in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, decrying the US Armenian lobby’s smear campaign against Pakistan due to its solidarity with Azerbaijan.
He said the Armenian lobby is interested in the continuation of Armenia's hostility towards Azerbaijan and Turkey, and is only driven by self-serving interests, with no interest in building a lasting peace in the region.
For his part, Oguz stressed the importance of historic bonds of fellowship and partnership among Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan.
He said Turkey’s political support for Azerbaijan during clashes last fall with Armenia was based not only on the unshakable ties between the two countries, but also on international law and UN Security Council resolutions that call for an immediate end to Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territories.
Oguz denounced the smear campaign and false Armenian propaganda that has now expanded to include the Pakistani-American community.
He encouraged the three communities to remain steadfast and strengthen their cooperation in informing wider constituencies about their pursuit of peace and stability, also calling on California’s elected leaders to be cognizant of the views and concerns of the sizeable Turkish, Azerbaijani, and Pakistani communities in the US.
Pakistani-American community leaders also spoke highly of relations between the three countries and communities.
They stressed satisfaction with the restoration of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity last November and the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions, and expressed hope that this will lead to lasting peace in the region.
Relations between the former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
Azerbaijan liberated several strategic cities and nearly 300 of its settlements and villages from Armenian occupation during the recent six-week Karabakh war, which erupted on Sept. 27 and ended on Nov. 10 with a Russian-brokered truce.
Before this, about 20% of Azerbaijan's territory had been under illegal Armenian occupation for nearly three decades.
