Baku supports UN call to revitalize mediation for Karabakh conflict settlement
The UN secretary general made the remarks at an informal meeting of the UN General Assembly on January 16. In particular, Guterres stressed the need for pushing back the dangerous tide of nationalism in Europe, and the need for revitalizing the relevant mediation initiatives for protracted conflicts in Europe, including the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He noted that the countries of the continent have the levers necessary to overcome these problems.
Hajiyev told Trend that the Guterres noted correctly that the unresolved conflicts against the background of existing resources, opportunities and institutions in Europe cannot be justified: “Although the indivisibility of security is perceived as a single principle in Europe, unfortunately, the reality is far from this,” he noted.
“The aggressive Armenian separatism, which began in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan in late 1980s, resulted in Armenia’s military aggression against Azerbaijan, the occupation of 20 percent of the country’s territory, bloody ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis, and more than one million Azerbaijanis became refugees and IDPs,” said Hajiyev.
The spokesman noted that in contravention of the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act, the continuing occupation of territories of Azerbaijan, which is an OSCE member state, by another OSCE member state – Armenia – is still a serious threat to regional peace and security. Hajiyev added that Armenia ignores the UN Security Council resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884, which demand full and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
“Armenia’s aggressive policy, its attempts to obtain land by force, can be compared with unpleasant experience of Europe in the 1930s and 1940s,” he said.
The spokesman noted that Azerbaijan will continue to work with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs and the international community to resolve the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and ensure lasting peace and security in the region based on relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the Helsinki Final Act, which mandate the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.
Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan by laying territorial claims on the country. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.
To this day, Armenia has not implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the NagornoKarabakh and surrounding districts.
Incidents along the Line of Contact in Nagorno-Karabakh have remained commonplace, underscoring the risk that larger-scale fighting could renew at any time, says Carey Cavanaugh, Professor of Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution at the University of Kentucky.
Cavanaugh, who served as the U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, dealing with the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, made the remarks in his interview with Azernews on January 17.
The expert reminded that in 2017, the Austrian OSCE Chairmanship worked hard to advance the two confidence-building mechanisms that Baku and Yerevan agreed to in 2016 in Vienna and St. Petersburg.
“While an incidents investigation mechanism still appears to remain a bridge too far, it should be possible to proceed with the nominal increase in OSCE monitors from six to thirteen that has been under discussion,” the expert said. “Although this would only be a minor change, agreement and implementation of this measure would signal a willingness by the parties to take real steps toward improving the situation.”
Cavanaugh called a positive sign the fact that Azerbaijani and Armenian ministers and leaders are once again talking, but noted that they have not yet achieved any visible progress. He reminded that while there was an uptick in incidents along the Line of Contact in early 2017, strong engagement by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, the Austrian OSCE chairmanship, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and other key players helped encourage a return to dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“This was first seen with the meetings of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Brussels and New York and was capped by the October meeting between Presidents Aliyev and Sargsyan in Geneva,” Cavanaugh added.
Speaking about settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the expert noted that there are still many challenges.
“The Minsk Group co-chairs, OSCE, and other outside players can certainly help with the development and implementation of an agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” he said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.
Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the NagornoKarabakh and surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan has long ago stated it is willing to settle the conflict through direct negotiations with Armenia with mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. Azerbaijan even noted that within a compromise, it is ready to provide its NagornoKarabakh region with the highest level of autonomy within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. However, even this concession of Azerbaijan does not make the Armenian authorities join serious and constructive talks on the conflict resolution.