BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 24
Trend:
Almost all the Western media I spoke to were biased towards Azerbaijan, and the questions contained more accusations, even assertions, rather than a desire to find out something, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said during the meeting with the leaders of Russia’s top mass media at the TASS headquarters, Trend reports.
"From the very beginning of our independence, we were faced with a certain information vacuum. More than that, if it were just a vacuum, it would be half the trouble. We were faced with an incorrect interpretation of our activities. In fact, we still feel it not only, let's say, in Western countries, but also in other countries of the world – misinterpretation sometimes due to a lack of knowledge, sometimes due to prejudice, due to what we are doing inside and what we are doing in the international arena. Therefore, one of the main problems for us until recently was to communicate the truth about the Karabakh conflict to the world community, to the public, because the political structures knew everything perfectly well. But the situation of neither peace nor war simply suited them. There were useless negotiations, the Minsk Group kept coming and going for 30 years. By the way, this year they will celebrate the anniversary of their establishment in 1992. This is why we had to convey the truth about what happened in Karabakh to the broad public, to those in the expert community who shape the public mood. Precisely the truth, not the way it was presented for many years, unfortunately. And this was done during the war. We succeeded. Many are saying that we won the information war. But we didn't wage it. We simply got the opportunity, because the attention of the world was focused on this war. We simply got the opportunity to speak the truth. And in contrast to the Armenian side, we told the truth to our people and the public. So I am grateful to you and other Russian media for creating this opportunity. Special thanks to Dmitry Konstantinovich for providing the opportunity to be on the air together with Pashinyan and, as they say, to communicate our position to Russian viewers and many Western ones. However, let me say that almost all the Western media I spoke to were biased towards Azerbaijan, and the questions contained more accusations, even assertions, rather than a desire to find out something. Nevertheless, it made it possible to drive a wedge even in this space. I think that the world as a whole quickly accepted the new realities also because it was clear who was right, who was the victim of occupation, who was fighting on their own land and who was the occupier. For this, I am grateful to you and your colleagues. And I should also note that, in general, the Russian media were neutral. With the exception of certain rough edges and some personal moments, in general, I think that neutrality was completely preserved. For that, too, I am grateful because it wasn't always the case before," the head of state said.