ICG recommends Baku and Yerevan cooperate more closely against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine

Baku/25.04.22/Turan: The International Crisis Group (ICG) has prepared a report entitled "Nagorno-Karabakh: in search of a path to peace in the shadow of the Ukrainian war."  The ICG believes that against the background of the Russian war in Ukraine and the hostilities in Karabakh in 2022, there were fears of a resumption of the conflict in Karabakh.

In the past, the diplomats of the three co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group worked synchronously. The war in Ukraine brought discord in this group. In this situation, Western diplomats should indicate that they in no way object to Russia's peacekeeping presence in Nagorno-Karabakh, the international expert group believes.

The Crisis Group proposed Baku and Yerevan to create a mechanism to address urgent issues, including the access of the people of Karabakh to water, through regular meetings. "The appointment of representatives of the parties who will meet in emergency situations, could help eliminate the emerging tension."

Experts offer Baku to remove the factors hindering negotiations with the Armenians. The İCG doubts that all the Armenians detained by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces arrived on the territory of Azerbaijan after the ceasefire agreement came into force and, therefore, are not subject to it.

"The version stated by official Baku that Armenians as citizens of Azerbaijan will have access to the same opportunities as Azerbaijanis is inadequate, given the history of violence between Armenians and Azerbaijanis in the region," the Crisis Group states.

The final part of the report states the readiness of Baku and Yerevan to move on to peace talks. Finding a path to greater stability will require a concerted effort by Russia, Western powers and Turkey, despite deepening divisions caused by the war in Ukraine. Despite the difficulties, the parties must work together, otherwise the existing opportunity to end the hostility will be missed, and the peoples of the region will face a new outbreak of conflict, summed up the report of the İnternational Crisis Group.—0—