Today, Azerbaijan
July 23 2010
Russian expert: Azerbaijan must emphasize that it does not attack
Armenia, but restores constitutional order
23 July 2010 [14:35] – Today.Az
Interview with editor-in-chief of St. Petersburg-based “Konservator”
newspaper Rustam Arifjanov.
What are your comments on the fact that the Almaty meeting between
Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers was fruitless? What will
happen next?
This will be followed by a stalemate. The parties will either reach a
peace or will continue to play until one of the parties surrenders.
The Almaty meeting clearly showed that today the OSCE Minsk Group is
not able to influence settlement of the conflict. Armenia represented
by Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian once again made it clear in
Kazakhstan that it will not make any compromise or even withdraw from
unchallenged Azerbaijani territories around Nagorno-Karabakh. In this
situation, they start to cheat and say that allegedly Nagorno-Karabakh
“army” occupied these lands although this is not true. In Armenia
everybody understands the situation and mourn for those draftees who
have recently died in a clash on the frontline and who were the
natives of Armenia, not Karabakh. I think the settlement process
should involve new players and news powers.
Whom do you mean exactly?
With all due respect to our Kazakh friends, who head the OSCE, mandate
of this organization is clearly not enough to move the conflict
resolution forward. I think this requires new UN resolution, a fresh
resolution by the Security Council and other authoritative
international organizations. Armenia should understand that their
position when they seem to intend to solve the conflict, participate
in the negotiation process but take their original stance at a
decisive moment is fundamentally wrong. Even the Armenian opposition
leader Levon Ter-Petrosian called position of the Armenia authorities
on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict destructive and senseless. But the
Armenian authorities do not understand this or unwilling to understand
for some reason. The so-called representatives of the Karabakh elite
think that if they make even one step towards liberating Azerbaijani
lands, it would mean their political defeat, and possibly end of their
political career.
At the end of the year Kazakhstan will host summit of the OSCE member
states’ leaders. I believe that Azerbaijan should squarely put the
issue of Nagorno-Karabakh during this summit. Azerbaijan must
reiterate its position and note that Baku agrees with the updated
version of the Madrid principles proposed by the mediators, and is
ready to begin to resolve the conflict. At the same time make it clear
that Armenia does not make any compromises. Let the OSCE members
address the Armenian leadership and call it to pursue a constructive
policy, threatening with certain sanctions if necessary.
In your opinion, is military solution to the conflict realistic today?
I think its real. However, before it starts fighting to liberate its
occupied territories, Azerbaijan should inform the world’s major
powers and world community of its intention. Baku is not obliged to
ask permission to do it. Azerbaijan simply once again must emphasize
that it does not attack Armenia, but restores constitutional order on
its lands. Armenia has its own borders and no one is going to breach
them. Azerbaijan only wants justice and has this legal right to this.
However, a war is not desirable in any case. It does not bring
anything good to countries whatever its outcome. And I’m sure that
Baku, acting wisely and well-heeled in diplomacy, knows that it might
give a brief pause to the opposite side to think everything over so
that to go back to the negotiating table after a certain time.
/Day.Az/
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From: A. Papazian