Baku / 15.08.20 / Turan: Head of the Russia-Azerbaijan Interparliamentary Friendship Group, State Duma Deputy Dmitry Savelyev commented on the latest events on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, expressing his opinion on the position of Russia and other members of the CSTO. He also named the actions to be taken to settle the Karabakh problem.
“I believe that there were no objective reasons for an unexpected surge of tension on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border between the two countries,” the State Duma deputy said in an interview with AZERTAC news agency. And in search of the reasons for what happened, he suggests turning to the analysis of who the situation could be beneficial to. “The fact is obvious to me that there was no point in provoking Armenia by Azerbaijan,” says Dmitry Saveliev. "All the Azerbaijani side wants is the return of the occupied lands, and for 30 years, despite the very high level of training and technical equipment of its army, Baku has been striving to solve the problem peacefully."
The Russian parliamentarian sees Armenia's intentions far from being so unambiguous. The coronavirus pandemic has led to an economic downturn and unemployment in the country, causing social tensions and exacerbating a crisis of power. “I do not exclude that with the help of provocation the Armenian leadership tried to divert the attention of the population from the problematic socio-economic situation in the country,” Dmitry Savelyev notes. He also points out that almost all recent battles took place in close proximity to the Azerbaijani Baku-Ceyhan and Baku-Supsa oil pipelines, as well as the Baku-Erzurum gas pipeline. “It is likely that by its actions, Armenia demonstrated its ability to create a potential threat to communications on the East-West line, thereby trying to indirectly exert pressure on Azerbaijan,” the Russian parliamentarian adds.
The main possible reason for the provocation, according to Dmitry Savelyev, is Armenia's attempt to involve Russia and other countries that are members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in the conflict. The fact that Armenia is counting on the intervention of the CSTO allies was publicly announced, for example, by the head of the Armenian diplomatic mission in Moscow, Vardan Toganyan.
Dmitry Savelyev called the position of the CSTO members balanced: calls for a ceasefire were sent to both sides of the conflict. We will remind that earlier the UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling for a ceasefire in all conflicts amid the coronavirus pandemic. “In my opinion, the decision of Russia and other CSTO member countries is largely dictated by Azerbaijan’s very consistent foreign policy, which also showed that the clash does not concern the CSTO’s area of activity, and thus won in the eyes of the world community,” Dmitry Saveliev emphasizes. In his opinion, it was the neutrality of the CSTO members that caused the indignation of the Armenians, which resulted in attacks on Azerbaijanis in the USA, Canada and Belgium. “This seems to me to be an act of impotent anger,” notes Dmitry Savelyev. "Nikol Pashinyan should admit that all over the world Armenia has faced international support for Azerbaijan's peaceful policy."
According to the State Duma deputy, in order to relieve tension in the Transcaucasus, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs should step up their actions to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. “We need a specific plan based on the “Kazan formula” and with the establishment of a clear time frame: Armenia transfers all the regions occupied by it to Azerbaijan, after that Azerbaijan lifts the economic blockade of Armenia, and Nagorno-Karabakh, after the return of the IDPs, holds a referendum on the status of the territory,” concludes Dmitry Saveliev. The Russian deputy also refers to the Madrid principles and the UN Security Council resolutions adopted on the Karabakh problem, noting that now real progress is needed in the negotiation process, which can only be provided by specifics on all issues. —06D-
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