Interview with deputy chairman of the parliamentary committee of defense and security of Azerbaijani Parliament, political scientist Aydin Mirzazade.
Q: Can the rejection of Minsk Group format and involvement of neutral states to mediation of Karabakh conflict be expedient?
A: Let’s see whether this variant is profitable for Azerbaijan. In 1996 Georgia rejected mediation of the so-called “six” dealing with the problem of South Ossetia and whose activity was similar to the tasks of the OSCE Minsk Group. By this step Georgia failed to attain the resolution of the problem, to find the new variant of forming a mediator from among other states
In this connection, I think it is not expedient to reject the services of the OSCE Minsk group since we mean not the involvement of any country, even if we don’t like it and we consider it to be biased, we imply the involvement of a definite country which is influential in this region and thus, attracting its attention to the resolution of the Karabakh conflict.
Q: However, in a number of cases the Minsk Group co-chairs make statements which contradict to their mediation mission…
A: There can be quite erroneous and unjust steps in the activity of any co-chair of the Minsk Group. But it is necessary to take into account not the steps of a definite co-chair but the fact that the country he represents is responsible for the resolution of the Karabakh problem in line with the international law. Probably, some states including Armenia, want Azerbaijan to reject the institution of Minsk Group co-chairmanship and will search other ways of settlement of conflicts and thus lose time, while the issue will continue to remain unsettled.
Even we are not satisfied with the activity of the Minsk Group, its rejection means that we will face the problem one-on-one. In this case, Armenia will lose nothing, since three million Armenians will find a place in Europe, while for us there is no other home except for Azerbaijan.
Q: But among the Minsk Group co-chairs, there are countries which openly support Armenia...
A: Azerbaijan will never agree on the variant of settlement envisioning the resolution of the Karabakh conflict beyond the territorial integrity of the country. As for the countries you are speaking about, let them further continue to support Armenia, which they need as a weak state, keeping the region in tensions but at the same time giving them a headache. Developments show that the policy conducted by official Baku has changed the attitude of the states to Azerbaijan which existed in 1992. Now, the states treat Azerbaijan as a strong country.
Q: Is it correct that Russia which has extended the status of its military base in Armenia, which has supplied arms and weapons to this country in the amount of over a billion of dollars, remains the Minsk Group co-chair?
A: The matter is that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have been formed from among the states which are influential in the region. In this case, we mean not the states which are able to fulfill the duty, but the countries which can ensure the conflict settlement. In the policy of each of the Minsk Group co-chairing countries, there can be moments that do not satisfy Azerbaijan, however, Baku is far from unfounded reaction to them. At the same time, if Russia has obligations to provide arms to Armenia, it should also be noted that no one has ever cancelled Moscow’s duty to continue mediation functions on the Karabakh conflict.
One of the tasks of Russia’s foreign policy is the resolution of the Karabakh conflict. Therefore, for Baku today Russia’s repeated recognition of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan on the level of the Russian president.
Q: But European and American experts believe that in this issue the United States has made concessions to Moscow...
A: Every big state has its interests in our region and each of them pursues its interests. The signing of a military agreement between Russia and Armenia is an affair of these states. However, if the agreement on military base is interpreted in a different manner thus causing damage to others’ interests, the relevant decisions will be passed.
W.W
News.Az
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
