The peacekeepers should explain to the Armenian side where the border lies

Baku/14.05.21/Turan: The international music Festival "Hari Bulbul" was held on May 12 and 13 in the cultural capital of Azerbaijan, Shusha.

The festival, organized with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, was attended by public and cultural figures of different peoples living in Azerbaijan, musical groups, works of classical and folk music. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva attended the opening of the new building. A festive prayer was also held at the Shushi mosque.

On the same day, on May 12, the Armenian side stated that Azerbaijani soldiers had violated the border and invaded 3.5 km deep. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also called for a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization to be held in this regard.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said that the tension around Lake Garagol, which is located partly in the Lachin region of Azerbaijan and partly in the Sonik region of Armenia, is due to the fact that the Azerbaijani border forces began to be deployed in the Lachin and Kalbajar regions bordering Armenia.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry recommends not to worry Armenia, to accept the reality of the interstate border regime along the Zangilan, Gubadli, Lachin and Kalbajar regions of Azerbaijan and not to aggravate the situation in the region.

On May 14, security expert Ilham Ismail commented on the festival held in Shusha and the tension on the border with Armenia in the program “Difficult Question”.

"Six months have passed since the Karabakh war, but Azerbaijan's efforts to restore its territorial integrity and sovereignty deserve a positive assessment. Azerbaijan's 3,000-square-kilometer territory is still outside Azerbaijan's control. In my opinion, we are retreating in resolving the issue of sovereignty, while the issue is resolved and closed," expert Ilham Ismail expressed his attitude to the Karabakh issue.

According to him, at the festival held in Shusha on May 12 and 13, Azerbaijan made the most important message to both Armenia and the whole world: “We have returned to Karabakh" and will return to other territories.

Ismail says that the time of the festival, the month and the days were not chosen by chance, each of which was a response to the Armenian leadership.

He believes that from now on, the issue of returning to areas outside of control should not be hushed up. The expert added that the Armenians talk about the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, which does not exist, and some international powers support them. In his opinion, in response, the liberated territories should be settled.

According to him, Azerbaijan is facing a difficult diplomatic struggle for the return of 3,000 square kilometers of its territory that it does not control, and France, which is a member of the OSCE Minsk Group, once again demonstrates a unilateral position that is not neutral, but supports Armenia.

As for the tension on the border with Armenia, Ismail said that the demarcation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border has begun, the process continues, and this has caused serious concern on the Armenian side. He added that Lake Garagol and the adjacent territories, which are now in question, were declared state property of Azerbaijan in 1987 and are the legal territory of Azerbaijan. However, the main concern of the Armenians is not the lake and what is around it, but the dominant height that has passed to Azerbaijan," the expert said.

As for the specification of the borders, Ismail says that the borders are determined on the basis of maps prepared by the Ministry of Defense of the former USSR, and Armenia's claims about the falsification of maps are groundless.

According to Ismail, a similar noise may arise when defining the borders with Armenia in the Gazakh region. The expert believes that in 1984, 10,000 hectares of land were seized from the village of Kamarli in the Gazakh region and transferred to Armenia under pressure from Moscow, which at that time caused conflicts.

The expert also noted that, although this time the Armenian side was not able to create a military clash on the territory of Garagol, it committed an "information provocation".

"During the negotiations, which lasted only 8 hours, Azerbaijan received calls at the level of officials from France, the United States, Russia and the OSCE. Even without knowing what is happening in the region, French President Macron showed an absurd position, demanding the withdrawal of the Azerbaijani armed forces from Armenia. But the Azerbaijani servicemen did not leave the territory. They proved that this is the territory of Azerbaijan," Ismail said.

In his opinion, in order to avoid such confrontations, Azerbaijan should involve Russian peacekeepers in the process.

"Russia has prepared maps. The boundaries are defined according to these maps. Therefore, the peacekeepers themselves should explain to the Armenian side what is happening on the border," the expert said.

As for the fact that this confrontation will serve to weaken Pashinyan's position, Ismail said that it is possible that this may be one of the versions.- 05B-