“Lachin corridor” operation: what is Baku preparing for? |

In recent weeks in Karabakh Russia gunshots are regularly heard from the areas under the temporary control of the peacekeepers. Illegal Armenians in the region military the formations break the ceasefire at an intense speed, resort to various provocations. The last time was yesterday, November 22 Azerbaijan Shusha city of his army and Tartar intermittently fired at their positions located in the direction of the district.

At the same time, on November 21, our army uncovered another provocation. So, the cities of Lachin and Shusha on the border located in the northern part of Sarıbaba elevation military Our servants discovered a “surprise”. The surprise in question is anti-personnel mines ((350 PMN-Э) and most interestingly, these mines were produced in Armenia in 2021.

The mines discovered in Sarıbaba raise two serious questions:

Firstly, by whom and in what way were these mines produced last year delivered to the separatists?

Second, how was an area under the control of peacekeepers mined? (Until August of this year, this height was under the control of peacekeepers)

The same state can be mentioned in the answer to both questions: Russia

Because it is Moscow that controls the corridor of Lachin, and turns a blind eye to the unimpeded delivery of mines and ammunition to the separatists in Karabakh, as well as the mining of positions. All these events irritate Baku even more and force him to take control of the Lachin corridor in a short time.

Thus, the recent events in Karabakh make the topic of launching new anti-terrorist operations in the region relevant. But and but here Russia the presence of peacekeepers ties the hands of official Baku. Maybe that’s why Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev during the last week, he had two phone conversations with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. So Azerbaijancould it launch an anti-terrorist operation to capture the corridor despite the objections of its northern neighbor?

Military expert Tarlan Eyvazov excludes this factor in his statement to Pressklub.az.

“The possibility of conducting a military operation in the direction of the Lachin corridor, which is not agreed with Moscow, is very risky. Currently, the provocations of Armenian militants can only be answered with local military operations in different directions. But taking control of a strategic area like the Lachin Corridor, despite the Kremlin’s “veto”, not only Russia, France and will direct the attention of other foreign countries to Karabakh, which will be against our common cause. Also, an uncoordinated military operation with Russia in this direction may cause damage to the peacekeeping contingent, and in this case, unwanted problems will arise.”

Military journalist Sakhavat Mohammed and in his statement to Pressklub.az, he said that the situation in Karabakh has reached a critical level, but official Baku should take prudent steps.

“Today we clearly see that weapons and ammunition are transported from Russia to Armenia by airplanes. These are then sent to the illegal Armenian military units in Karabakh through the Lachin corridor. Currently, the situation there has become dangerous. Illegal gangs are changing from the form of terrorist groups to the form of “regular troops”. They are trained every day. The situation is critical. It has reached the point where the separatists can hit our positions in Tartar. That’s why it’s official Baku is using its sovereign right and trying to take control of the corridor of Lachin. But Russia is the biggest obstacle here. Our soldiers can “understand” peacekeepers in the region when there are certain problems. However, if a strategic operation such as taking control of the Lachin corridor is carried out without the Kremlin’s consent, there may be a danger of losing the lives of peacekeepers. This turns the situation in a completely different direction. Therefore, prudent steps should be taken, and international allies should be called for support in this matter.”

Thus, it is clear from the opinions of our interlocutors that in the current situation, it seems impossible to start any military operation in order to take control of the Lachin corridor. The reason for this is that the official Moscow launched a new strategic plan to strengthen its position in this region until 2025 with the Vardanyan card. Another reason is the considerable straining of relations with Azerbaijan and Russia. Therefore, in the current situation, it is not excluded that the Kremlin will veto the possible operation of the Lachin corridor. In such a case, Azerbaijan should reconsider the activities of peacekeepers in the region in order to either close this corridor or ensure its own control over it.

Recall that 2020of the year 10 the joint statement signed in November was not ratified by the Parliament of Azerbaijan. This creates an opportunity for a review of the mandate of peacekeepers. Of course, Azerbaijan cannot force the peacekeepers out of the region. But Turkey, Britain and has focused the attention of its allies, such as Israel, on this issue, to go more on Moscow, at least the peacekeeping contingent national can ensure its diversity (that is, it does not consist only of Russians).

Nijat Ismayilov