BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 14. In Soviet times, perhaps, there was no such case that the ambassador of a foreign country was exposed and agreed to become a secret agent. This unique operation was developed and carried out personally by Heydar Aliyev, a veteran of security agencies, Colonel Shamil Suleymov said within Trend News Agency's "Relevant with Sahil Karimli" project.
"Back in the day, information was received that the ambassador of one of the European countries was spying, waging covert activities, and collecting data against the Soviet Union. Heydar Aliyev immediately gathered operatives and investigators and gave them appropriate instructions," he said.
The colonel said that information on this diplomat was studied, data was collected and he was taken under surveillance for a long time.
"When the necessary evidence was collected, Heydar Aliyev personally met with the ambassador and confronted him with the fait accompli. After this conversation, the ambassador agreed to work secretly for the Union. It was quite a rare case. Attracting a foreign ambassador to cooperate with our special services was a great achievement," he said.
"This success was achieved under the leadership of Heydar Aliyev. For instance, all the operations I performed were completed successfully, and my colleagues also noted it. And I was telling them that it was because I was working under the leadership of Heydar Aliyev. I was lucky that I started working in his department," Suleymanov said.