TODAY.AZ / Politics

Expert: Int’l community must exert pressure on Armenia

05 July 2017 [17:41] - TODAY.AZ

By Azernews


By Rashid Shirinov

The international community must exert pressure on Armenia to stop the killing of people in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Sergey Markov, political scientist and Russian president’s confidant, told Trend on July 5.

Yesterday, the Armenian armed forces undertook another large-scale provocation on the contact line between the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops. As a result, Armenians killed two residents of the frontline Azerbaijani village, including a child, and seriously injured another resident.

Following the incident, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs issued a declarative statement and called on the sides to cease military action.

The conflict is neither in hot nor in frozen phase, and outbreaks of violence constantly demonstrate that, Markov said, commenting on the incident.

“Death of civilians in addition to the military is a clear manifestation of the fact that this conflict is killing and it can kill even more. Therefore it is urgent to sit down at the negotiating table,” he said, adding that the Minsk Group must increase pressure on Armenia so that the sides would have begun substantive negotiations and reach a compromise.

Markov added that the pressure should be diplomatic, political, psychological, and maybe even economic.

The expert further recalled that the world community has already developed interim steps to move the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict from the deadlock.

“That is the Kazan formula, the essence of which is the liberation of the regions occupied by Armenia around Nagorno-Karabakh in exchange for the unblocking and demilitarization around Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh,” said Markov.

He noted that Armenia is completely satisfied with the current situation in the conflict zone, as it captures the balance of power between Armenia and Azerbaijan which was more than 20 years ago. “Therefore, Armenia impedes the achievement of a compromise… But since then the balance of power has changed,” the expert added.

Markov also noted that the Armenian leadership might be ready for a compromise on the basis of the Kazan formula, but it is afraid of its radicals.

“The Armenian leadership is afraid that it would just be shot in the Parliament building, as it was 10-15 years ago. Therefore, to some extent, the international community must help the Armenian government to be stronger and not to be afraid of its radicals,” he said.

Russian political scientist Alexander Karavaev, in turn, is sure that it is high time for an acute reaction of the international community on the recent provocative actions of Armenia.

“This is not the first case of that kind. Such attacks are regular. Their intensity periodically increases and decreases, and the victims, regardless of intensity, periodically include civilians,” he told Trend on July 5.

The expert noted that the international community typically responds to such provocations by Armenia only within general statements of the OSCE Minsk Group, which express the concern of the Minsk Group co-chairs and members.

“Regrettably and sadly for the citizens of Azerbaijan, there won’t be a strong reaction,” he said.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/politics/162888.html

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