(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Rena Murshud read more Global competitiveness and power challenge have made both the
West and Russia to maintain their influence in the ongoing
Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict. Following the recent visit of the US
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State with Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev and the discussion over the problem made the Kremlin's
top diplomat Dmitry Peskov to voice a concern over the matter. He
made a statement that "trilateral agreements are the only basis for
resolving the situation". But for some reason, despite the proposal
for a trilateral agreement that comes from Russia, Armenia opposes
to sit at the negotiation table with Azerbaijan.
In reality, Armenia, which carries out Russia's orders, either
behaves like whimsical or tries to show itself as an independent
decision-maker. A questionable moment arises in the middle; either
Russia is playing games or Armenia has gone astray from its
orbit...
A Ukrainian political analyst, the Chairman of the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Oleksandr
Oleksandrovich Merezhko, who commented on the issue to Azernews , called Russia's mediation void.
“Under no circumstances should Russia be trusted.
Especially in relation to neighboring states” - Merezhko
said.
In response to another question that if Russia is not a trusted
partner, then what is the role of the Russian peacekeeping troops,
which have temporarily been stationed in Azerbaijan's Karabakh, the
expert said:
“There is no doubt that it is in the interests of
Azerbaijan that Russian troops leave Karabakh and the South
Caucasus region as soon as possible,” he replied.
Besides, an Azerbaijani Political analyst Ilgar Valizade
provided a supportive answer to the expert's comment, saying that
there are only a couple years left till the peacekeeping contingent
to complete its duty in the country.
"In 2025 the mission of the peacekeeping contingent expires, and
if they don't fulfill their duties properly during this period, it
is likely that Azerbaijan will demand the withdrawal of the troops
from the region. Russia is just trying to maintain its presence in
the region, and I think after 2025 they will not be needed here,”
the pundit said.
Ilgar Valizade added that despite the presence of the
peacekeeping troops in the region, and even the verbal support by
the EU and the US none of the parties could deter Armenia from
resorting provocations.
"Unfortunately, provocations continue. For this reason, peace
talks are in doubt. Although efforts have been made by various
countries and administrations on this topic, it has not been of any
avail. As for the statement made by Russia, they are more concerned
about the efforts of the West rather than solution to the ongoing
problem. Besides, Armenia still ignores the opinion of all parties,
including Russia,” Valizade opined.
The historian also shared an incident related to the Armenians:
“I remember the Armenians proposed to erect a monument to the Nazi
criminal Garegin Nzhdeh near the prison in the city of Vladimir
where he was serving his sentence. Naturally, this idea was
actively exaggerated in the Armenian press. And in Russia, it was
completely ignored as a crazy and foolish idea in any way."
While sharing his views, Alexander Merezhko said that Azerbaijan
is Russia's close ally in all respects.
“Karabakh is a territory under the full sovereignty of
Azerbaijan. I think it is not so important for Azerbaijan that its
territorial integrity be "recognized" by everyone. The main thing
is that all states respect this idea. This is their international
legal obligation. Therefore, it is impossible to put forward any
additional conditions in this matter,” he concluded.
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