LAMIYA ADILGIZI , BAKU – Today’s Zaman
The Azerbaijani defense minister said his country is seriously preparing for war against Armenia to “liberate its territories from occupation” during a meeting with diplomats mediating the two-decade-old conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
“Azerbaijan is seriously preparing to liberate its territories,” Safar Abiyev reportedly told the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group co-chairs, the defense ministry’s press release said on Friday.
Abiyev defended his comments by referring to the traditional practice of other countries, saying that every country would act similarly in these situations. In the statement Abiyev emphasized the necessity of implementing current international norms and provided examples of situations in which international law was successfully implemented.
In an intense military phase during the tension, Armenia and Azerbaijan fought full-fledged armed conflict in 1992-94 that was resulted in the occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories. The United Nations Security Council adopted four consecutive resolutions while Armenia penetrated and advanced into Azerbaijani territories, condemning the occupation and demanding that Armenia withdraw its troops. Along with Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia also occupies seven provinces adjacent to the disputed territory, where Armenians did not live.
Abiyev also criticized the activities of the Minsk Group and said that while diplomatic overtures of the mediators have not produced any results, Azerbaijan has not yet lost its hope in the group.
Ziyafat Asgarov, the deputy speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament, told reporters in December of last year that Azerbaijan reserves the right to liberate its occupied territories. When asked whether war was on the agenda, Asgarov said, “You will see it very soon.”
The OSCE Minsk group has been mediating the peace talks for over 15 years but these talks have yet to yield any results. Azerbaijan adopted a $3.12 billion military budget on Oct. 22, which is the largest military budget in the region and slightly greater than the entire state budget of Armenia.
Novruz Mammadov, the director of the department of foreign relations in the presidential administration of Azerbaijan, told ANS TV channel on Saturday that it is natural for Azerbaijan to intensify its war rhetoric, pointing to the failure of mediators to bring about peace in the conflict. “The only job of the international community and OSCE Minsk Group is to make Armenia accept the proposals on the table,” Mammadov said. “It is very natural that Azerbaijan increase its military calls because we have been negotiating for many years already. Because the talks have not produced the outcome we want, the Azerbaijani president [Ilham Aliyev] is highlighting the right of Azerbaijani army to liberate our territories and this is only natural,” Mammadov concluded.
The International Crisis Group (ICG) warned last week that there is a heightened possibility that Armenia and Azerbaijan could go to war and the ceasefire is more fragile than ever. According to the ICG, military capabilities on both sides have extensively been increased, which alert a new armed conflict in the South Caucasus that is expected far more deadly than the 1992-1994 one ended with the uncertain ceasefire. There are daily front-line skirmishes and the sides could easily violate the truce.
Armenian authorities reacted to Abiyev’s comments, releasing a declaration that the Armenian troops were constantly training to repel any attempt by Azerbaijan to seize the region back, AFP quoted Interfax news agency as saying on Saturday.
The statement said Armenian forces were ready “if necessary, to ensure that any encroachment by the enemy meets with adequate retaliation.”
The US State Department called on both sides late last year to avoid war rhetoric. US President Barack Obama appointed former OSCE Minsk Group American Co-chair, Matthew Bryza, as US Ambassador to Azerbaijan last summer. Observers say this reveals that the US has a vested interest in resolving the conflict peacefully.
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