Sochi pushes back the Minsk group

Baku/29.11.21/Turan: In Azerbaijan, politicians and experts assess the results of the meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan, Russia and the Prime Minister of Armenia on November 26 in Sochi in different ways.The leaders of the three countries, who made a statement after the meeting, noted that the meeting was fruitful and an agreement was reached on many issues. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry positively assessed the results of the trilateral meeting in Sochi.

The statement signed following the meeting, the moments reflecting the position of Azerbaijan are fully provided. "The statement should especially emphasize the moments of the earliest implementation of projects in order to identify the economic potential of the region, including in connection with the opening of railways and highways."

It was noted that in the post-conflict stage, Azerbaijan took the position of full implementation of trilateral statements, opening all communications in the region, starting the process of delimitation between the two countries and normalizing relations based on the principles of international law. "The Azerbaijani side will continue to take appropriate steps towards the implementation of the relevant points, reflected in the statement of November 26,".

The MP Sadagat Veliyeva stated to Turana that the Sochi meeting went down in history as another political and diplomatic victory of Ilham Aliyev. “In the trilateral document adopted at the Sochi meeting, the interests of Azerbaijan are expressed in general. The statement reflects the issues of delimitation and demarcation of the borders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, the opening of transport and communication corridors between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which is of particular importance from the point of view of ensuring peace, stability and economic prosperity in the South Caucasus region. 

According to her, one of the key points in the statement adopted by the political leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia is that it does not use the expression "Nagorno-Karabakh", does not reflect the issue of "prisoners of war" claimed by Armenia. "Of course, all these factors, in general, the Sochi meeting and the statement adopted at the meeting are the result of determination, wise policy, love for the people and the Motherland, Ilham Aliyev's foresight. Also, Ilham Aliyev's decisiveness and determination made Pashinyan and the Armenian authorities come to terms with the existing realities."

Former Foreign Minister Tofig Zulfugarov believes that the meeting was held to analyze the state of implementation of the statement on November 10. “We saw that the statement, adopted on November 26, indicated certain progress in some directions. For example, on the issue of delimiting borders. There was a feeling that the positions of the parties are being clarified, and discussions will be held over the next month to determine the platform of approaches. That is, this topic remains unresolved."

The expert noted that it is currently impossible to open the Zangezur corridor, "because from a practical point of view, about 100 kilometers of railways should be restored. This work may take more than 1 year. Part of the work should be carried out in Nakhchivan and Armenia. That is, even if the decision is made, its implementation is not yet possible. "

However, according to Zulfugarov, the issue of the Zangezur corridor will be fulfilled taking into account the time factor. "It would be premature to make any decisions regarding him at the meeting."

According to him, when they talk about the Zangezur corridor, they mean its extraterritorial features. "In this part, its extraterritoriality already exists. Since 1992, the Russian military have been stationed on this section of the railway, and Armenia has de facto agreed to control the Russian military, which is envisaged in the statement of November 10."

The ex-minister stressed that at the meeting no one except Armenia mentioned the OSCE Minsk Group. “This means that the current situation in Karabakh will continue. The Azerbaijani side put an end to the occupation, and we are temporarily assisted by the peacekeeping forces for the reintegration process. The format of this reintegration process was chosen by Azerbaijan, and in this format there are Azerbaijan, Russia and Turkey. Therefore, Nikol Pashinyan's statement about the Minsk Group is just a request. "

Political commentator Zardusht Alizadeh said the meeting in Sochi has consequences. “Russia tried not to resolve the conflict, so that the situation would not get complicated. That was its goal. But the European Union intervened and it was decided that political negotiations between Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan would take place in Brussels on December 15 within the framework of the Eastern Partnership program. there was a threat to Russia's sole mediation."

The political scientist believes that in order to prevent interference in the EU process, Vladimir Putin invited the President of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia to Sochi. “At that meeting, it was decided to start a process on two issues. The process also consists in the fact that the parties create a delimitation commission and negotiate. The process of delimitation can last 30 years, but the main thing is that, but the main thing is that negotiations are underway. Secondly, general agreements were reached on the opening of communications. And there is some progress here." -0-