U.S. experts: Separatist provocations in Karabakh threat to Europe security

By Azernews

By Vafa Ismayilova

Some foreign experts believe that the recent increase in separatist provocations in Karabakh poses a serious threat to European security and has a direct impact on the economic development of the South Caucasus region.

To recap, provocations by separatists in Azerbaijan's Karabakh, currently controlled by the Russian peacekeepers, have become more frequent in recent days.

Either a "law on occupation" is submitted for "discussion" in the non-existent "parliament", then "exercises" are held, and the separatists try to create the impression that they are allegedly trying to "protect the population from possible provocations". All of these stories about the alleged existence of a "threat" and "population's preparation" serve Armenian propaganda, Day.az has reported.

Richard Hoagland, the former co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group from the United States, said that planning "exercises" on the territory of another sovereign state is not only a provocation but also illegal.

"However, there is still time for talks between Baku and Yerevan. Russia and the OSCE Minsk Group may also be involved," local media quoted Hoagland as saying.

According to American expert Peter Tase, the "military exercises" planned by Armenian separatist forces in Karabakh on Azerbaijan's sovereign territory pose a serious threat to European security and have a direct impact on the South Caucasus region's economic development.

"It is high time for the Russian Federation to take specific steps to prevent such ‘military maneuvers’ in Karabakh. Russia must act decisively to reduce the availability of weapons in Karabakh. The emphasis on ‘military exercises’ indicates that Armenia is a war-mongering state, and it emphasizes Yerevan's chauvinistic policy toward neighboring countries even more. The European Union and other international organizations should start acting and imposing sanctions on Armenian fascist actors operating in the Karabakh region, which is the historical center of Azerbaijani culture," Tase said.

The U.S. expert believes that such a turn of events can only be detrimental to two parties: Armenia and the Russian peacekeeping mission. Armenia, already mired in chaos, will find itself in an even more hopeless situation as a result of such adventures. Armenia's only option is to implement the provisions of the November 10 tripartite statement.

On February 15, the Azerbaijani army thwarted engineering work in Karabakh carried out by illegal Armenian armed units.

Members of illegal Armenian armed units were observed conducting engineering activities disguised as agricultural work on Azerbaijani territory, where Russian peacekeepers were temporarily stationed.

On February 16, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts, Jeyhun Bayramov and Ararat Mirzoyan, to discuss the fulfillment of trilateral ceasefire deals signed after the 44-day war in 2020.

About 2,000 Russian peacekeepers have been deployed for five years in Karabakh under the trilateral cease-fire deal signed by Baku, Moscow and Yerevan on November 10, 2020. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw all its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it had occupied since the early 1990s.

The trilateral ceasefire deal signed by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders on November 10, 2020, ended the three-decade conflict over Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region which along with the seven adjacent regions came under the occupation of Armenian armed forces in the war in the early 1990s.

The deal also stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions. Before the signing of the peace deal, Azerbaijan liberated 300 villages, settlements, city centers, and historic Shusha city that had been under Armenian occupation for about 30 years.

On January 11, 2021, the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders signed the second statement since the end of the 44-day war. The newly-signed statement was set to implement clause 9 of the November 2020 statement related to the unblocking of all economic and transport communications in the region.

On November 26, 2021, the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders signed a statement and agreed on a number of issues, including the demarcation and delimitation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border by late 2021, some points related to humanitarian issues and the issue of unblocking of transport corridors which applies to the railway and to automobile communications.

On December 14, 2021, during the Brussels meeting, organized between Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders at the initiative of European Council President Charles Michel, the sides reaffirmed their commitment to the conditions agreed in the Sochi meeting.

Both sides agreed to establish a temporary working group on the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

The issue of demining the liberated territories of Azerbaijan was also brought up on the agenda, and the European Union's readiness to provide technical assistance to Azerbaijan in this regard was underlined at the meeting.