2023-09-25 22:55:00
President Ilham Aliyev assured that the rights of Armenians displaced from Nagorno Karabakh will be “guaranteed” / Photo: Archive.
Azerbaijan reaffirmed this Monday that the rights of the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh will be “guaranteed”, that the reintegration process of those remaining in the enclave recovered by weapons will be carried out “successfully” and that it will provide them with humanitarian aid and basic services. which also did not stop the exodus of refugees to Armenia.
The commitments took place in two scenarios: on the one hand, in the meeting that the Azerbaijani president, Ilham Aliyev, had with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and, on the other, in the meeting that a government delegation had with Armenians from Nagorno Karabakh, the second between the parties to discuss the reintegration of the enclave to Azerbaijan.
Last week, Azerbaijan launched a brief military offensive through which it managed to regain full control of Nagorno Karabakh, a mountainous territory located within its limits but populated mainly by Armenians who had formed there a republic without international recognition that had the region under its control. domain for over 30 years.
“The inhabitants of Nagorno Karabakh, regardless of their ethnicity, are citizens of Azerbaijan. Their rights will be guaranteed by the Azerbaijani state,” Aliyev declared. at a joint press conference with Erdogan in Nakhchivan, a strip of land between Armenia and Iran incorporated into Azerbaijani territory in the early 1920s.
“The inhabitants of Nagorno Karabakh, whatever their ethnicity, are citizens of Azerbaijan,” said President Aliyev / Photo: Archive.
“I am confident in the success of the process of reintegration of Karabakh Armenians into Azerbaijani society,” Aliyev added.which highlighted the “common interest” of Turkey and his country for “peace” to reign in the Caucasus.
More than 200 people died in 24 hours of Azerbaijani lightning offensiveafter which the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh agreed to disarm and disband their local defense forces under a truce mediated by Russia, which has historically interceded between both former Soviet republics and which has peacekeeping troops in the enclave.
The next day, representatives of Nagorno Karabakh began negotiations with Azerbaijan on the reintegration of the region into that country, and this Monday they held a second round in the western Azerbaijani city of Khojaly, which focused on humanitarian aspects and was held in an “environment constructive,” the Azerbaijani government reported in a statement.
The note explained that Azerbaijan will create working groups to study the social, humanitarian, economic and infrastructure needs of Nagorno Karabakh and restore basic and health serviceswith special attention to the chronically ill and pending surgeries, reported the Azerbaijani state news agency Azertag.
Representatives of Azerbaijan and the Armenian community of Nagorno Karabakh held a first round of negotiations / Photo: Archive.
Of the wars
Armenia and Azerbaijan, two former Soviet republics, They clashed militarily in Nagorno Karabakh from 1988 to 1994 (30,000 dead) and in autumn 2020 (6,500 deaths). After that last conflict, Russia deployed a peacekeeping force in that territory, despite which Baku launched the lightning attack last week.
Neighboring Armenia, which borders Nagorno-Karabakh and has fought two wars against Azerbaijan for control of the territory since the late 1980s, has not intervened this time on behalf of the Armenians but has called for an international mission to uphold their rights. and has opened itself to receive people displaced by the fighting, who began arriving on Sunday.
More Armenian refugees entered Armenia this Monday from Nagorno Karabakhand, according to witnesses, there was traffic jams on the only road that connects that enclave with Armenian territory.
In total, 6,650 people “forcibly displaced” from this enclave arrived in Armenia since Sunday, including 1,500 who did so this afternoon, the Armenian Government said this Monday, the AFP news agency reported.
Nagorno-Karabakh authorities said 30 groups of displaced people had already left and were staying at the Russian peacekeeping force base in Ivanian.
The conflict has always dragged together two powers with interests and presence in the Caucasus region: Russia, which has acted as mediator, but mostly supported Armenia, where it has a military base, and Turkey, which firmly supports Azerbaijan.
The first 40 displaced people arrived in Armenia on Saturday through the Lachín corridor / Photo: Archive.
Since the start of its war with Ukraine in 2022, Russia has lost influence in the Caucasus, while Turkey has increased its influence.
In Russia, the Government of President Vladimir Putin on Monday “categorically” rejected accusations from Armenia that Russian peacekeepers had not been able to prevent or stop the Azerbaijani offensive.
“We understand the emotional intensity of the moment, but we categorically disagree with the attempt to blame Russia or Russian peacekeeping troops, who are showing true heroism when carrying out their duties, in line with the mandate they have,” said Putin and Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov.
“No one can say that the peacekeeping troops have done something wrong. We will never agree with these reproaches,” he added.
Since last week, the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinian calls out Russia for what he considers its failure to guarantee compliance with a tripartite truce that had ended the last war over the territory, in 2020.in which Azerbaijan defeated the Karabakh Armenians and Armenia and recovered areas of the enclave and its surroundings.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described Armenian criticism of his country as “unacceptable attacks” / Photo: Archive.
The premier said Sunday that Azerbaijan’s recent attack showed that Armenia’s external alliances – an allusion to Russia – were no longer effective in protecting the nation’s interests, although he stopped short of announcing a new external alignment.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Pashinian’s criticisms were “unacceptable attacks” and that the Armenian prime minister, who has recently become closer to the United States, was trying to “deflect responsibility for the failures in his policy.” national and international, blaming Moscow”.
In the United States, the State Department spokesperson said this Monday that Russia showed itself to be not a reliable partner of Armenia.
“I think Russia showed itself not to be a reliable security ally,” spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
Nagorno Karabakh
The Nagorno Karabakh region is a territory of about 4,400 square kilometers in the South Caucasus, recovered by Azerbaijan in a military offensive of just 24 hours started last September 19.
Until then, the area where some 120,000 Armenians live had been under the control of pro-independence forces for more than three decades. despite the fact that the international community recognized the region as Azerbaijani sovereignty.
The spokesman for the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken supported Armenia’s request to create an international mission to ensure that Azerbaijan fulfills its promises to protect the rights of Armenians de Nagorno Karabakh.
For this Tuesday, the European Union (EU), which condemned the Azerbaijani offensive last week, is scheduled to receive senior officials from Armenia and Azerbaijan in Brussels.
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