Will the clashes in Karabakh stop the peace process? | – #clashes #Karabakh #stop #peace #process
On March 5, the skirmish on the Khankendi-Khalfali-Turssu road, which caused casualties on both sides, continued under the auspices of the West. Azerbaijan–Armenia to peace talks, as well as Baku– It dealt a serious blow to the dialogue between Khankendi, which started with the mediation of Russia.
The situation in the region is complicated, the ceasefire is fragile, and mutual trust is non-existent. The worst thing is that the new military conflicts can occur outside the will of the parties to the conflict. Considering the current processes as a threat to their interests in the region Russia clearly not interested in peace. This process, almost out of his control, USA and Europe It came under the control of the Union. Recently, Washington’s South Caucasus representative Luis Bono and Brussels representative Toivo Klaar held high-level meetings in Baku and Yerevan.
to the confrontation on the Khankendi-Khalfali-Turssu road Armenia Prime Minister level reacted two days later, Azerbaijan But the president has not yet spoken about it Ministry of Defence and MFA accused Yerevan of provocation. It is interesting Russia Ministry of Defence also broke his two-day silence. The statement of the Ministry says:
“On March 5, 2023 at 10:00 in the area of Dukanlar settlement Azerbaijan The servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh opened fire on a car containing employees of the law enforcement agencies of Nagorno-Karabakh. 3 people as a result of the collision perished and an employee in the car was injured. On the Azerbaijani side, there were two dead and one wounded. Russia the conflict was stopped by the efforts of peacekeepers. The command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent regarding the fact Azerbaijan and Armenia conducts a joint investigation with the parties”.
Nicole Pashinyan He discussed the situation in Karabakh with the French co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Brice Rokefi, and he said that Baku’s actions can only be called a terrorist act. Prime Minister he added that in the current conditions, sending an international fact-finding mission becomes a vital necessity.
Azerbaijan’s MFA responded to this statement of the Armenian Prime Minister. Ministry Press service department chief Aykhan Hajizade’s tweet says: “Prime Minister Nicole Pashinyanterrorism military transporting personnel, weapons, mines and killing civilians way with To Azerbaijan (whose sovereignty and territorial integrity you recognize) against your infamous policy and military is a continuation of aggression. To prevent such illegal actions of Armenia Azerbaijan legal measures Azerbaijan rules in sovereign territorieslaw called creating”.
The road where the sabotage took place is considered an alternative to the Lachin corridor, which Azerbaijani activists started on December 12 protest after the actions, this dirt road became the main route between Khankendi and Armenia. Azerbaijani security agencies do not have the opportunity to directly control the road, because the area in question is under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Cars coming from Khankendi take an alternative road built by Azerbaijan about 60 kilometers from Shusha and can move easily from there. 10 In the November tripartite statement, the use of the dirt road was not envisaged, officially Baku considers that illegal cargoes, including weapons, are being transported from there, this activity is inadmissible. But the Russian command in Karabakh ignored Baku’s request.
Azerbaijan blamed Armenia for the clash and warned Russia at the same time. As the reason for the accusations addressed to Yerevan, the sending of weapons and ammunition to Karabakh secretly, as a result of which the situation in the region was deliberately aggravated, is indicated. The criticism addressed to Russia is in the territories under its temporary control Azerbaijan related to creating conditions for activities aimed at safety.
During the period since the Patriotic War, such events have been repeated many times, and there is no guarantee that it will not continue in the future. Do not solve the main problem that hinders the peace talks, as well as the dialogue with the Armenian community way have:
First, the Lachin region of Azerbaijan is the state of Armenia on the border establish a control-issue point;
Second, to disarm the armed units in Karabakh, to completely demilitarize the region.
To solve these two issues, Russia 10 It is the commitment he undertook with the November agreement. Baku Moscow must make a serious demand, otherwise it must warn that it will take unilateral steps.
As for how the clashes will affect the peace process, the restrained response of mediators and parties is encouraging. because USA and European Uniondespite all the difficulties, they insist on finding a solution, and Washington representative Luis Bono, who was in Baku on March 6, expressed this position as follows:
“A few weeks ago, I accompanied Secretary of State Blinken on his trip to Munich, where he President Aliyev and the Prime Minister Pashinyan had meetings with The meeting was constructive and this opinion is shared by all participants of the meeting. After that, the Secretary of State asked me to go to the region as soon as possible to continue the peace process trip I’ll do it.”
“If provocations and ceasefire violations occur after the meetings and agreements between the representatives of Baku and Yerevan, USA in response to the question “what can be done to maintain the peace process”, Bono said that the US acts as a mediator: “For the peace process to be sustainable, the parties themselves must want it”.
In response to the question about the Lachin Corridor, Bono recalled the words of Secretary of State Blinken in Munich. Blinken said that the road should be open for people’s movement. “We admit that there is a security problem, but the movement of essential goods and civilian cargo, Karabakh It is important that it is accessible to the population”– added Bono.
“Our goal and duty is to end the suffering of Azerbaijanis and Armenians so that these peoples can live together peacefully”– he emphasized.
Political scientist Farhad Mammadov said in his comment to Pressklub.az that the US and European Union representatives discussed the text of the peace agreement at the negotiations in Baku:
“Of course, there will be a result of this event. EU and US representatives know this. Negotiations on the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as Baku and Karabakh The main obstacle to dialogue between Armenians is the presence of Armenian armed forces in Karabakh and the militarization of the region in general. Neither the peace treaty process, nor Baku and Karabakh dialogue between Armenians will bring results. During the course of these sensitive processes at the diplomatic level, there were many examples of escalation.”
The political scientist emphasized that the creation of a checkpoint and Azerbaijan’s full control over the border becomes a necessity for achieving results in the negotiations. According to him, there is no point in negotiating with Armenia and dialogue with Karabakh Armenians without it:
“Changes in the situation on the ground lead to progress in the negotiations. Unfortunately, in the experience of the last two years, only the losses on the front lead to the increase of constructiveness in the position of Armenia. If mediators are interested in achieving concrete results, they should think about it.”.
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