Armenia Sends, Russia Lets Militants into Karabakh

Baku /22.12.20 / Turan: The hopes of Azerbaijanis and many Armenians to end the war, and for this, the end of new deaths and prisoners did not come true. On December 16, the Yerevan media reported on the capture in Azerbaijan of 100 armed men sent to Karabakh from the Shirak region. They are mainly community leaders, their deputies and school directors. As you can see from the photograph they took, these volunteers are not able to resist the Azerbaijani army, but in the absence of other military personnel, Armenia sent them to Azerbaijan on November 29 to continue the war. But they did not have time to fight as they were surrounded. More than 30 militants who voluntarily surrendered were handed over to Russian peacekeepers by the Azerbaijani military. The remaining 62 soldiers were later disarmed and transported to Baku.

Vahram Saghatelyan, head of the Meghrashat settlement of the Amasia district of the Shirak region, said that on December 2 they were already at the post. "We were familiarized with the positions, and after that no one, even the command was interested in us, did not know if we were alive, or what became of us. Only every 4 days they sent food. On the 10^th or 12^th day we found out that we were in a siege," says Saghatelyan.

Now they are at home, in Armenia, issued by Azerbaijan as a sign of goodwill and in the framework of the accepted formula “all (prisoners) for all”.

Since there is only one corridor between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Lachin corridor, it is clear that the militants entered our country along the Lachin highway, where road passengers are checked by Russian “peacekeepers”. As the Armenian authors write in the media and social networks, the check is symbolic, as it comes to the soldiers' questions “how are you, where are you going”. They rarely look for weapons in the trunks. However, the militants do not need to move to Karabakh from Armenia with weapons and in military uniform, as everything is there. It is enough to pretend to be a refugee returning home.

In the text of the tripartite Statement, the fourth paragraph says:

The peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation is deployed in parallel with the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces.

In the eighth paragraph: there is an exchange of prisoners of war and other detained persons and bodies of the dead.

As you know, along with the withdrawal of a part of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied regions of Azerbaijan, new parties of armed people are being sent to Karabakh. And in the paragraph about the exchange of prisoners, there are no time restrictions.

Lawyer Fuad Agayev writes on Facebook: the Armenian army will continue to ensure the physical security of the Karabakh Armenians, and the military contingent of the Russian Federation remains the guarantor of this. Judging by the speeches of the leader of the Karabakh Armenians, Arayik, and the "peacekeepers", the fourth point is not being fulfilled. Russia and Armenia do not intend to fulfill their obligations. On the contrary, the Russian military is protecting the Armenian armed detachments, F. Agayev wrote.

Note that the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu publicly reported to V. Putin about the absence of incidents in Karabakh during the time the "peacekeepers" were operating there. General Shoigu does not consider the discovery of several armed Armenian groups, the injury and death of soldiers, or the capture of Armenian detachments after the signing of the Statement of the Presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia incidents. The Azerbaijani side did not express objections to Shoigu's statement.

In an interview with Turan, Fuad Agayev said that responsibility for the penetration of armed Armenians into Azerbaijan falls on the Russian side, whose armed forces exercise control on the Lachin road between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Answering the question about the legal responsibility for the appearance of Armenian armed groups in Karabakh after the establishment of peace, the lawyer said:

- The transition of Armenian militants to the territory of Azerbaijan after the announcement and commencement of the trilateral declaration of November 9 and the attempt of these units to enter into a clash with the Azerbaijani army means that they are not combatants, since they were identified and neutralized in peacetime, even from the point of view of the Armenian state. Therefore, the eighth paragraph of the Statement is not applicable to them, and they should be judged in accordance with the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.”

F. Agayev believes that Baku should not return the fighters sent by Armenia back to this country.

The reason for Russia's concern for Armenian militants is revealed in a message published in a Yerevan resource:

“With the statement of Putin-Pashinyan-Aliyev on November 9 and the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the Armenian sector of the Artsakh conflict zone, a new stage began in relations between Russia and Artsakh. In fact, it was aimed at eliminating the dependence of Artsakh on Yerevan or changing the direction of this dependence. "

The Russian side plans to open the Stepanakert airport for Moscow-Stepanakert flights. In addition to the peacekeeping mission, Russia initiated a large-scale humanitarian work, and is creating a humanitarian center in the city of Stepanakert right on the territory of the airport. It is not excluded that a Russian military base will be created in Artsakh. But according to our information, Russian programs are not limited to this.

According to Russian sources at 168am, Russia plans to inject into the budget of the Republic of Artsakh, moreover, to provide the budget and to make large investments in the infrastructure of Artsakh, education and a number of other areas.

“In the future, there will be roads, a university, a developed infrastructure, and more active communication with Baku. New borders are drawn, a new situation is created, and Stepanakert will become the center of the Armenian statehood, and Yerevan will find itself in a more isolated state.

The attitude of Russia to Yerevan is neutral, and a mutual positive perception and position has developed towards the Karabakh Armenians. There is a sincere desire to help this enclave take place, although the issue of status will not be discussed there for 5 years, that is, Russia does not plan anything at this stage, following the example of Abkhazia or Crimea, but will sincerely try to eliminate the consequences of the war and develop a state there.

Russia has always been acceptable in this territory, the residents are mostly Russian-speaking, and this is nice,” a close-to-diplomatic source told the Armenian media.   —0--