OSCE Minsk Group Must Reason with Revanchist Sentiments

Baku / 05.12.20 / Turan: The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, made a statement, worried that Russia and Turkey would "astanize" (an analogy with the Astana format for the settlement in Syria) conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, Syria and Libya, that is, oust EU out of the settlement process. Borrell said the EU must be present where the interests of the union are at stake.

Borrell's desire is discordant with the position of V. Putin, who clearly announced the end of the Karabakh conflict and the recognition of Karabakh's belonging to Azerbaijan.

But in Armenia they think differently. After the two chambers of the French parliament “recognized the NKR,” Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazyan made a revanchist statement, presenting 4 conditions to Azerbaijan: the solution of the Karabakh conflict is possible only on the basis of the realization of the right of nations to self-determination and ensuring the security of the people of Karabakh.

"An important condition is also the de-occupation of the territories of Karabakh, the safe return of Armenian refugees to their homes, as well as the preservation of the Armenian cultural and religious heritage in the territories under the control of Azerbaijan," Ayvazyan said.

The minister also stressed the unconditional implementation of the principle of "all for all" in relation to prisoners of war and other detained persons, as well as the solution of the issue with the bodies of the dead. An important point in Ayvazyan's statement can be considered the following: a long-term settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be achieved through negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. Only this format has an international mandate to resolve the conflict.

In unison to Ayvazyan, the OSCE Minsk Group issued a statement testifying to the desire of this structure to continue its activities in the Karabakh process.

Director of the Institute for Political Studies Sergei Markov called the call of the French parliament to recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh a destabilizing factor.

"If Europe does not have a clear position on Nagorno-Karabakh ... then France has such a position. There is a strong and influential Armenian diaspora in France, which forces the French political class, to some amazement of French public opinion, to take a sharply pro-Armenian position," he told the publication Vesti Kavkaza.

“This was evident even before the last hostilities, since within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship, it was France that blocked the development of the negotiation process. This very obvious pro-Armenian position of France receives, taking into account the peacekeeping work of Russia in the South Caucasus, an anti-Russian emphasis, including the fact that France was, in fact, disconnected from the development of a trilateral statement," Sergei Markov noted.

Moscow political scientist Oleg Kuznetsov, at the request of Turan, assessed Borrel's statement. “The OSCE Minsk Group has fully exhausted its potential and has long turned into a sinecure for a narrow circle of diplomats and bureaucrats. For a quarter of a century of their existence, they have not done anything to fulfill the UN Security Council resolutions on de-occupation of Karabakh and adjacent regions, thereby showing their helplessness and lack of principle. MG completely and irrevocably missed its chance to go down in the history of Europe and the world as a peacekeeping structure that achieved a result. With the support of Russia and Turkey, during 44 days of the war Azerbaijan did what the OSCE Minsk Group could not do in 25 years - forced Armenia to comply with all four well-known UN Security Council resolutions on Karabakh. Independently, without any support and even contrary to the position of this structure, it restored the priority of international law in a local conflict, thereby creating a historical precedent. Azerbaijan's victory in the war clearly showed all the falsity and, I will not be afraid of this word, the impotence of European peacekeeping institutions, so the gambler who has lost the game must leave the table, otherwise he will be thrown out of the casino by force,” Oleg Kuznetsov wrote in a letter.

Today in Transcaucasia there is one winner and two beneficiaries from his victory - Azerbaijan, Russia and Turkey. The political presence of Europe in the region now has no place, and it is unlikely that it will be found in the future, if the parliaments of European countries adopt documents that contradict the territorial integrity and state sovereignty of Azerbaijan. If the situation continues to develop in a similar vein, the Old World risks losing not only its political influence, but also its economic presence in the region. We need to think about this, and not about gratifying the ambitions of defeated Armenia, the insignificance of which, like the tale of Hans Christian Anderson about the naked king, suddenly became obvious to everyone,” he added.

Milli Mejlis deputy Asim Mollazadeh believes that Azerbaijan has fulfilled four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from Karabakh on its own, and the Azerbaijani army, Russia and Turkey have complied with the Madrid principles. The task of the OSCE Minsk Group has been completed. The stage of the war, the return by Azerbaijan of the lands seized by Armenia in the past to its jurisdiction, is over, and today the region is at the beginning of the stage of economic recovery and the infrastructure of peaceful coexistence of Azerbaijanis and Armenians in Karabakh. If the OSCE Minsk Group, Europe and the United States want to join the present process, this can be welcomed,” Milli Mejlis deputy Asim Mollazadeh told Turan.

At the same time, there are statements of hostility and revanchism on the part of Yerevan and the Armenian diaspora abroad. Instead of trying to return peace to the region, they call on countries to declare the lands seized by Armenia as a “state”, and promise to return the armed forces of Armenia to Shusha and other regions of Karabakh. European and American

organizations and countries could work with the destructive Armenian forces to prevent the revanchist aspirations of the Armenians, the MP said.

“The former Prime Minister of Armenia made a speech in California, urging to hit Azerbaijan with dirty nuclear bombs. American and European friends of Armenians could explain to some supporters of a new war with Azerbaijan the perniciousness of such calls. The Armenian diaspora abroad is even more aggressive than the politicians in Armenia. Peacekeeping, construction, restoration of good-neighborly relations in Karabakh - this is where there is a field of activity for those who want to apply their efforts so that Russia does not remain alone in the peacekeeping process in Karabakh,” A. Mollazadeh said.

He believes that the OSCE Minsk Group should be disbanded, and Azerbaijan has fulfilled the task of the OSCE MG. If this structure is preserved, then it needs to set new goals for its activities - strengthening peace, restoring infrastructure, good relations and preventing Armenian revanchism.

“The OSCE should consider the participation of France as one of the co-chairs of this structure, since Paris openly stands on the side of the Armenian aggressor, having left the status of an objective mediator. The mission of Andrzej Kasprzyk, which has been monitoring the contact line of the two armies for decades, should be stopped,” A. Mollazadeh summed up.-0-