To stop Russia's provocations...

Baku/23.04.21/Turan: Russian peacekeeping forces are preparing to mark the 76th anniversary of the victory over fascism in World War II in Karabakh.

Even the Russian Ministry of Defense said that the peacekeeping forces have already held their first exercises at Khojaly airport. About 400 servicemen are said to have taken part in the exercises.

Speaking about the issue of strategic partnership in an interview with Azerbaijan Television on April 20, President Ilham Aliyev said he could not get a concrete answer to the question about the Iskander-M missile from Moscow, hinting at the insincerity of relations.

"Although it has been a little more than 5 months since Russia arrived in Karabakh region in the name of peacekeeping after the Second Karabakh War, provocations against Azerbaijan have increased. If this is not prevented, the number of provocations will further increase. Elkhan Shahinoglu, head of the Atlas Research Center, said this in a commentary in the program Chetin Sual (Difficult Question) of Turan on April 22, 2021, on "Russian parade in Khankendi, Ilham Aliyev's message on Iskander."

He says that after Russia arrived in the region as a peacekeeper, the Lachin corridor remained uncontrolled, and they are preparing for the May 9 parade in the Armenian-populated part of Karabakh. “This is, in fact, a message to Azerbaijan and the world that this part of Karabakh is under Russian control. This is a threat and a direct threat from Russia to Azerbaijan. At the same time, it is a demonstration of Russia's disagreement with Azerbaijan on some issues,” E. Shahinoglu said.

According to him, tensions are growing not only between Azerbaijan and Armenia but also between Azerbaijan and Russia. “The ceasefire is being intensively violated, which can lead to local clashes, even if not in large-scale military operations,” E. Shahinoglu touches on the perspective of the issue.

According to the head of the center, there are several factors that increase this tension. First, Russia cannot feel raw about Azerbaijan's victory over Armenia, so it resorted to provocations. In fact, with this victory, Azerbaijan has gone beyond Russia's policy of creating and managing separatist regions and keeping the de facto countries in shackles. According to him, this irritated Russia against Azerbaijan.

According to E. Shahinoglu, another reason that irritates Russia against Azerbaijan is the realization of the Turkish-Azerbaijani military alliance. Turkey already exists in the region, which worries Russia.

The third reason is the neutralization of Russian-linked political and military figures in Azerbaijan during and after the Second Karabakh War. According to the head of the center, Russia is a friendless state, it has either enemies or servants and does not intend to treat any state equally: “Azerbaijan neither wants to be an enemy of Russia nor intends to be a slave. Therefore, Russia is increasing pressure on Azerbaijan and creating a threat,” E. Shahinoglu said.

The head of the center believes that the growing pressure is forcing Azerbaijan to conduct further anti-terrorist operations in the region.

As for Russia's military parade in Karabakh, E. Shahinoglu said that the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs should invite the Russian ambassador and convey the position of the Azerbaijani side to the other side. According to him, the Azerbaijani side must make Russia feel this pressure. The head of the center believes that refraining from Russia will not reduce the threat: “If Russia has resorted to so many provocations in just five months, it is possible to predict the provocations in the remaining five years,” he said.

As for the possibility that the recent Turkish-Ukrainian and Azerbaijani-Ukrainian relations may lead to an increase in this provocation, E. Shahinoglu did not consider this possibility unfounded.

As for the Iskander-M missile fired at Shusha, the head of the center believes that Ruiya must clarify this issue and answer how it happened.

As for the signing of a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, E. Shahinoglu believes that Russia is not interested in it. According to him, Russia will lose its influence in the region with the signing of a peace agreement: “Therefore, it wants to resolve the conflict to the extent that it maintains its influence on the parties and in the region.”

According to the head of the center, the way out to stop Russia's growing provocations in Karabakh is to increase Turkey's military power in Karabakh, to place a Turkish military garrison in Shusha, to ensure the security of Shusha.

According to him, if Russia does not want this, then it must withdraw its military forces from the region, and there is no other way. -05B-