Azeribaijani expert: International drug trafficking routes pass through Nagorno-Karabakh territory uncontrolled by Azerbaijan

Just recently, Former Deputy U.S. Secretary of State for European Affairs Stephen Oxman stated that territory of Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia is currently uncontrolled and international cooperation is needed in order to prevent spread of terrorism on the territory of Karabakh…

I believe Stephen Oxman’s statement is due to the fact that Turkey demands the U.S. demand to facilitate a fair resolution to Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. To resolve the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, the superpowers, in this case the United States should abandon the confrontation strategy of conflict, after which the conflict can be solved by legal means.

Of course, any political solution must have a legal basis.

Apparently, given Turkey’s tough position in this matter, the U.S. has decided to switch from conflict strategies it has employed for long to legal resolution to the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with all its ensuing consequences. In this connection, it should be noted that the recent talks that Azerbaijani scholars do not deal with the Nagorno-Karabakh problem are not true.

My proposal to develop a draft European convention for uncontrolled territories including not only Nagorno-Karabakh, but also other de facto uncontrolled territories testifies to this.

What threats does the uncontrolled Nagorno-Karabakh territory pose in terms of international terrorism?

Afghanistan is the greatest threat in terms of international terrorism. It holds first place in the world for area of drug plantations. There is a need to eliminate this threat by eliminating channels that finance international terrorism. In other words, there is a need to eliminate drug trafficking routes, the enormous funds from which supports the Taliban and other terrorist organizations.

This route of drug trafficking passes through the uncontrolled territories. Previously, international drug trafficking routes passed through the Balkans. However, following the Kosovo events and deployment of international peacekeepers in the area, international drug trafficking routes changed. Now they should be bypassing Europe and pass through Central Asia and uncontrolled Azerbaijan territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Hence, uncontrollability of Nagorno-Karabakh is one of the greatest threats in terms of global terrorism.

Is the self-declared “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic” financed via these funds?

Let's have a look at possible sources that may finance economy of the so-called "NKR". We can see that the Nagorno-Karabakh has always been an element of Azerbaijani economy while Armenia was unable to sustain the economy of Nagorno-Karabakh both during the Soviet times and at a time of independence.

All can witness that Armenia’s budget is bursting at the seams. As a result, economy of the uncontrolled separatist entity is financed by handouts of the Armenian diaspora. But it is worth recalling that the U.S. adopted a law "On Combating Terrorism" in 1996 which banned the transfer of cash funds to terrorist-oriented organizations.

As we have already pointed out above, and as the Former Deputy Secretary of State for European Affairs Stephen Oxman said, the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia is currently uncontrolled and poses a threat to proliferation of terrorism. Hence, there is every reason to believe that the economy of "NKR" is also funded by myrrh terrorism, which uses the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh for drug trafficking.


/Day.Az/