KAZIMIROV: BAKU’S MILITARY RHETORIC UNDERMINES OSCE MINSK GROUP’S PEACEMAKING MISSION

Thursday, November 29, 20:04

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs should display a tougher position with
respect to Azerbaijan, Vladimir Kazimirov, former Russian Co-chairman
of the OSCE MG, said at today’s conference “Regional Security Dynamics
in the South Caucasus” in Yerevan.

He said that Baku’s permanent “arms rattling” undermines the
peacemaking mission of the co-chairs. So, the statements that there
should be no military settlement of the Karabakh conflict are not
enough.

Kazimirov also stressed that one of the key reasons of the inefficient
negotiations is the lack of mutual confidence, and the danger and
illusion of resumption of war only deepen the non-confidence. “I
cannot conceal my intolerance against three phenomena: any attempts
to resume the bloodshed, any inobservance of the officially assumed
commitments and any distortions of what was going on during the war and
the armistice negotiations”, said the Russian expert. In the meantime,
he “reproached” Yerevan and Stepanakert for lagging behind Azerbaijan
by the three specified positions, i.e. Yerevan and Stepanakert threaten
to resume the war less, violate the ceasefire more seldom and distort
the reality less.

“Baku’s propaganda trump card about “occupation of the 7 regions” is
easily denied by the cause-and- effect relationship. Losing a region
after region, Azerbaijan, nevertheless, did not want to stop the war
of 1991-1994. Today, it is easier for the regime of Ilham Aliyev,
who has come to power after his father, to retain power under color
of preparation for the war than during unleashed war. His martial
campaign is aimed at deceiving his own people”, stressed Kazimirov.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress