-My first question, Miss Alsmadi, you have been in Baku for several days. We’d like to know your impressions about Baku.

First of all, it’s my pleasure also to be in Baku and it’s my pleasure to meet all of you.   If I want to talk about my impression or my first impression, it’s my first visit in Azerbaijan, Baku also.  It’s a very good impression actually, I’m very pleased with what I have seen in Baku. The main impression is now watching a very organized city, modern and full of life. I mean the people who are walking in the street and when I can feel that easily. I think it’s a good impression to talk about it, it’s a good sign that the city is full of life. It’s also a sign for the future of this country and future of this city and people also.

-How do you evaluate Azerbaijan’s strategical position in this region?

To be frank with you, it’s not easy for researchers to answer this kind of question. Because you are asking about strategy and want to evaluate strategy. It’s not an easy issue to mention or to evaluate. But by meeting with many officials and experts in Baku I understood that Azerbaijan is interested to be independent and strategic country in the region. So it will not be easy for Baku to balance the regional and international bonds. But I think Baku decided to make such relation with neighbours or with other powers in the region. This is very important to be independent. I think it’s right for this country to be independent and to find its strategy. If we are talking about bilateral or international relation, I think it will not be simple, but at the same time I think it’s the right choice for Azerbaijan and for its future to be independent and strategic to depend on its own interests in the region. As you know, Azerbaijan is located in a very sensitive place, if we want to talk geopolitically it’s not easy to be here and at the same time to keep a good relation with all of that players in the region. But I think as I mentioned Azerbaijan chose the right way to be independent and at the same time a good relation to other players in the region.

-You have had meetings with high level officials and politicians, the chief executives of official bodies and conducted several interviews. Which impressions did you get from these meetings? Are you satisfied with the replies that you received during the interviews?

-Frankly, as any researcher, I am not pleased enough with what I got. Also, I got many important information during the discussions with the high level officials in Baku and I consider that many of them can express the policy of Azerbaijan clearly and strongly. It is significant for someone who is working like them to act and express the policy of their country. This is my impression and I think you can struggle and fight for that point of view to express the stand of Azerbaijan toward many issues, especially about human rights issues. They discuss it easily and they express many things about this issue and at the same time they approach critically toward the human rights organization and also toward Al-Jazeera where I’m working...

It’s important for officials to be strong to express the opinion about the critical issue and I saw that easily in Azerbaijan and the other impression that I had that they are professional.  I mean when I met officials here in different sectors, they know what they are talking about and all they have numbers, statistics and scenarios and for researcher it’s very important to find officials who can give scenarios and analytical issues clearly. This is important. That means they have a high level education. I’m talking about the people who are in these positions.

-We’d like to know your ideas on Azerbaijan’s major problem – Karabakh  conflict and the process of its resolution. Which steps should the international society and international organizations take towards resolving this issue?

- I can say that it is a geopolitical and sensitive issue and if we want to talk about this issue, as security issue for the future of the region, it’s important to solve it. I think it should start from the international law and it is necessary to implement Security Council Resolution. If you start from international law, it will be easy to implement the other step.  And what I found here that all scenarios for solving this problem should be kept the right of Azerbaijan in Karabakh. But I think that it is geopolitical issue and it should be solved for the future of this region, especially you are talking about region full of energy resources and it’s important for the whole world, not only  for Eurasia or Azerbaijan.

-You have visited the office of The International Eurasia Press Fund, got acquainted with its staff and activities. We’d like to learn your opinion on this. What are your wishes for this organization and its management?

-Firstly, I would like to thank to Mr. Umud Rahimoghlu, of course I got much help here from him, without his help I think this wouldn’t be successful enough, he organized many things and I saw his relation is very strong here, he arranged many meetings for me and he helped me to have a good information and a good knowledge about many issues. He has some clever points for covering and it is very helpful. I met many people who are professional and organized and have a skilful dealing with issues and it is really important. I wish to cooperate with this organization. I think this organization will have a very important role in the Eurasian Media space and this is a Muslim region and I think in the future this role will be more important and effective.

The main project of this organization is the establishment of ‘Eurasia Diary’ analytical informational website and agency. As you know, this website will be issued soon. Our main purpose is to make this website a place for discussion, debates and the exchange of ideas for the world’s leading experts, politicians and specialist. In your opinion, what is the importance of establishing such an analytical informational resource? Why does the international society need such an objective and unbiased analyzing media body?

It’s important to have such a project in the region. Because if we are talking about the project where the people will discuss and write articles on regional problems, I consider that they have to be more professional for working with such kind of issues. So, above all, this project is important because we are talking about Eurasia, it is important part of the world, and at the same time there is a shortage of information about this area. This project will cover this shortage and I think it is important to build a bridge between Eurasia presses and other press organizations in other parts of the world. Maybe you mention that different point of views will be covered by the journalists of this project. It is important because we mainly find one point of view or one opinion, it is not enough. We should hear different aspects, point of views, opinions to get that wide or correct image. If you build such kind of work in this project, this project will be very significant and successful.

That’s pleasure for me.

-Finally, when are you going to publish the impressions and information that you obtained in Baku as an article or report? What can you say about this?

-Mainly, I will start my work of writing as soon as I reach to my office. Tomorrow I leave Baku and when I reach to my office, I will start just collecting the data, I have already collected the data because it is recorded, I will start writing main issues and I will publish. I will start with a report about some important issues like energy in the region, relations between Azerbaijan and its neighbours, and also future scenario to solve the Karabakh issue and other issues. At the same time I will write some recommendation from my organization, for the future coverage of Azerbaijan by our media. I think it will be great if you also publish my articles about Azerbaijan. For me it will be such a good work because we can’t find sources about Azerbaijan in Arabic language. I will publish in Arabic and English language. Mainly in Arabic there is a shortage of resources about Azerbaijan. I think my field study will give to the media some good resources and information about political and economic issues in Azerbaijan.

-Thank you very much, we will try to publish this article with great pleasure. And we wish good feelings for your trip and God bless you.

-Thank you so much it is a great pleasure for me as well, thank you.