There is no activity of the Azerbaijan-Russia-Armenia working group

Baku/28.07.21/Turan: The activities of the trilateral (Azerbaijan-Russia-Armenia) working group on the restoration of communications in the region have not been observed for almost two months.

The working group, created at the meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia with the Prime Minister of Armenia on January 11, was to determine the details of the opening of transport communications.

However, on June 1, Armenia announced its suspension from participation in the trilateral working group. Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan told reporters that this decision is connected with the unresolved problem of Armenian "prisoners" and "aggression" of Azerbaijan. “I don’t think that constructive work on this site is possible in the current situation at the border. Therefore, the relationship was broken. "

Some experts believe that the inaction of the tripartite working group reduces the issue of opening communications in the region to practically zero. Although Azerbaijan has repeatedly raised the issue of the Zangezur Corridor, there is no progress on this issue. Why is not the platform working, what are the consequences of its failure?

Active work on this issue began in January-February this year. "A joint working group has been created, a group of experts at the level of deputy prime ministers of the three countries, more than six meetings have been held and there are promising results," Foreign Ministry told Turan.

However, the organization noted that later, within the framework of the pre-election rhetoric in Armenia, contradictory, contradictory approaches to this process began to be observed. “A few days before the elections, the Armenian side made a statement on the suspension of the work of the trilateral working group. The elections are over, but now we still hear some contradictory opinions that the Armenian side is returning to the trilateral working group, but here, too, they regard some directions as priority, and some as second. That is, we do not see a constructive approach to this process”.

The Foreign Ministry stressed that even if there are disagreements on the process, there is a working group for this. “These issues should be discussed there, an agreement should be reached there. Statements that contradict each other and undermine the process cause it even more damage. "

The head of the Atlas Research Center Elkhan Shahinoglu stated that the reason for the suspension of Armenia's work in the working group was the unwillingness to fulfill the statements of November 10 and January 11. “One of the main points of these statements is the opening of communication lines. True, the Armenian side claims that the term "Zangezur Corridor" is not written there, but even if it is not written, it is about opening a transport corridor. The Armenian government is not ready for this. "

The expert believes that Armenia’s evasion from this topic of discussion actually means an additional chance for Azerbaijan. "We can strengthen our diplomatic activity and show everyone that Armenia is not interested in the activities of the trilateral working group, it is running away and is already trying to involve the United States, France and the European Union in this issue."

According to the political scientist, Armenia is not interested in defining borders. “Azerbaijan proposes to carry out work on delimitation and demarcation, to recognize the territorial integrity of each other, to sign a peace agreement, and Armenia avoids all this. Because the recognition of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan by Armenia will mean that, they recognize Karabakh as the territory of Azerbaijan. They are not ready for this. Pashinyan also fears that if he takes such a step, resistance against him will increase. "

Shahinoglu noted that Azerbaijan should not be interested in this. “We must step up our activities and define our boundaries. We must demand that Moscow put pressure on Armenia and speed up the work of the trilateral working group. As the problem drags on, tensions on the border increase and the situation will worsen until it is resolved. "

According to the expert, Russia plays a double role in this issue. "On the one hand, we are told that the communication lines must be open, the statement must be fulfilled, but on the other hand, this is the expansion of military bases in Armenia without any pressure or influence to implement the agreements."

According to him, it looks like Moscow is interested in the continuation of the conflict. “Because there is an opportunity to influence both Armenia and Azerbaijan through the conflict. If a peace agreement is signed, the issue will be resolved. It seems that certain circles in Moscow do not want this issue to end." –0—