BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 28. The Lagazetteaz.fr newspaper founded by Trend News Agency in France published an article commenting on an interview of the Azerbaijani Ambassador to France Leyla Abdullayeva to the Israeli "i24NEWS" TV channel regarding the situation in the Caucasus, anti-Semitism, relations between Azerbaijan and Israel, Trend reports.
The article, citing the ambassador's interview, noted that the absence of anti-Semitism in Azerbaijan proves the strength of a deeply secular model of a state that respects the beliefs and origins of everyone.
"Leyla Abdulayeva, who arrived in Paris four months ago to start her new position - the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to France, chose the i24NEWS channel for her first television appearance. The diplomat answered questions of Jean-Charles Banoun [the channel’s reporter] in the TV channel's Prime program on such issues as the peace treaty with Armenia, relations with Israel, the current situation with Iran, and others" the article said.
The article also noted that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan handed over to Azerbaijan a draft peace treaty on Karabakh on February 16, claiming that this text was allegedly "satisfactory" for the Azerbaijani side.
"In recent days, there has been a restoration of contacts between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Four months later, the leaders of the two countries met at the Munich Security Conference with the participation of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. We welcome the restoration of dialogue, this is the only way to achieve sustainable peace in the region.” the article said regarding the ambassador’s attitude on this issue.
"Unfounded accusations are being made against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is a country that has suffered from the violation of territorial integrity for decades," Abdullayeva added in the interview.
The article also emphasized that the ambassador, answering a question about the opening of the Azerbaijani embassy in Israel, highlighted the long-term friendly relations between Jerusalem and Baku.
"Last year, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our countries, we have close historical ties, and the opening of the embassy will play an important role in the further development and strengthening of bilateral relations," she added.
Since 2002, Abdullayeva held diplomatic positions in various departments of Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry, in the Representations of the Republic of Azerbaijan to NATO, the Embassy of Azerbaijan in the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union. She previously worked at the Foreign Ministry as Deputy Director of the Azerbaijan International Development Agency (AIDA).
On October 4, 2018, Abdullayeva was appointed the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.
On October 17, 2022, she was appointed Ambassador of Azerbaijan to France.
The full interview can be found by linking to https://www.i24news.tv/fr/actu/international/1677525953-l-absence-d-antisemitisme-en-azerbaidjan-est-une-source-de-fierte-ambassadrice-azerie-en-france.