Zhirinovsky: We must create Russia's union with Turkey and Azerbaijan - INTERVIEW

Moscow. 12 November. REPORT.AZ/ Interview of the Report Information Agency with deputy of the State Duma of Russia, head of the LDPR faction Vladimir Zhirinovsky.

- Good afternoon, Vladimir Volfovich. In 2018, the presidents of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin met four times. This fact is encouraging. Could you please tell us about the results of these meetings and their prospects?

Contacts between the leadership of our countries occur regularly and this is natural, since we are neighbors, we have many common interests. First of all, the president of such a state as Russia solves global issues of peace and war, is concerned about the problems of the whole planet, but, of course, our closest countries are always a priority in terms of building international relations. I have been to Azerbaijan several times, I am personally acquainted with the previous and present presidents. What brings Russia closer to Azerbaijan now is that we are politically moving to the South, and not to the West.

We could even create a confederal union with Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Azerbaijan. I have proposed this for many times already, I personally discussed it with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Of course, this would be far more beneficial for Azerbaijan, which is between our countries than relations with more distant Europe. Within the framework of such a union, we are ready to buy all the southern products that are difficult to manufacture in Russia, and in exchange provide our own military and civilian technologies and energy.

- Could you please name the most important areas of cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan, which, in your opinion, should be developed?

- An important aspect of our relations is the millions of immigrants from Azerbaijan who live and work in Russia. We are connected by projects in the field of armaments, army, defense.

An important topic for negotiations is the neighborhood with Turkey. As I said, this is our potentially key partner in the South. Big economy with a large population. Azerbaijan is between us and will inevitably be involved if we continue to move closer.

The third is transport. Russia is a direct bridge between Asia and the Caucasus to Europe. Without unnecessary borders, absolutely safe. Instead of building bypass roads through the mountains and across many borders, often through militarily unstable regions, it is better to do this through the territory of Russia.

- Are there currently unresolved issues between our countries?

-If we talk about problems that are not being solved yet, this is Nagorno-Karabakh. This conflict has smouldered for almost 30 years. And, unfortunately, this is not the only region in the post-Soviet space, where interethnic conflict has caused war. Ukraine, Georgia, the countries of Central Asia - there are similar problems everywhere. There is only one solution – to unite within the Russian Federation while preserving national borders. Of course, only on a voluntary basis, through referendums. Only within a single state we will be able to eliminate such disagreements, there will be no grounds for arguments because one country has occupied another's land - the land will be our common.