Do not the US and France respect the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan?

Baku/29.08.22/Turan: Azerbaijan treated as  disrespect to its territorial integrity "the fact that the ambassadors of the United States and France once again did not visit Shusha, despite the invitation,  Hikmet Hajiyev, Deputy Head of Shusha Administration said on Saturday.

A conference dedicated to  reconstruction works and plans in the territories liberated from occupation, demining operations, the use of urban potential in the post-conflict period, and the possibilities of international cooperation was held in Shusha.  More than 160 high-ranking representatives operating in Ankara, Tehran, Moscow, non-resident ambassadors accredited in Azerbaijan, representatives of institutions of the international diplomatic corps, military attaches, the Turkish Foreign Ministry and other government agencies attended the conference.  However,  the US and French ambassadors to Azerbaijan did not attend the event in Shusha.

“We consider it disrespectful to our territorial integrity” that the US and French ambassadors did not visit Shusha despite the invitation. "We regard this as disrespect for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," Hajiyev said.

Political commentator Ahmet Alili talks about this in the program "Difficult Question" program.

According to him, before  criticizing the United States and France, Hikmet Hajiyev stated that the fact  that the ambassadors of  these states did not visit  the city of Shusha "should not be considered a manifestation of disrespect for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and therefore Azerbaijan does not consider this as disrespect for its territorial integrity."

He also noted that the  assessment  of  the US  of Hikmet Hajiyev's statement  that the US ambassador ignored the invitation to visit the city of Shusha was given in the comments of the representative of the US embassy to "Voice of America" radio.

An embassy spokesman said: “The United States believes that we can do everything possible to promote a lasting and comprehensive peace through continued dialogue and interaction, including at the highest level. As we have said before, there is no greater supporter of the independence and sovereignty of Azerbaijan than the United States.”

According to Alili, the words of the representative of the US embassy that "... employees of the US embassy have made and continue to make trips to all regions of Azerbaijan, including Agdam, Zangilan and Fizuli regions" are key, he said.

The observer believes that Baku's anger was mainly caused by the fact that the United States and France were co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, a structure that no longer exists de facto and whose activity, to put it mildly, was unproductive. And if one of the parties to the conflict does not want further participation of the OSCE Minsk Group in the negotiation process, then this means that this structure no longer exists and this should be put up with.

“Nevertheless,  recently, the United States demonstrating an approach which is far from the post-conflict reality  in the region,  tried to revive the OSCE Minsk Group by appointing a new co-chair (the most experienced diplomat Philip Reeker).

All this happened after the visit of the Russian ambassador to Azerbaijan to Shusha,  and against the backdrop of the expectation that the ambassadors of the United States and France will visit Shusha this time to create parity.

It is clear that all this could not but cause extreme irritation to Baku,” the expert said, noting that Baku is also puzzled by the fact that the same Philip Reeker was simultaneously appointed a chief adviser to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on negotiations in the Caucasus. “This appointment signifies the growth of US attention to the South Caucasus and the intention to become more active in the region,” Ahmet Alili is convinced.--0--