(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Fatima Latifova
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It was an unexpected event that the 30-year Garabagh conflict
would end in 2020 and 2023 with counter-offensive operations by the
Azerbaijani army. During this period, the Azerbaijani leadership
took maximum humane measures in response to every Armenian
provocation without going beyond self-defence. The ceasefire
violations that periodically occurred along the borders continued
until the Second Garabagh War in 2020, particularly targeting the
civilian Azerbaijani population.
To end these provocations and liberate the formerly occupied
Garabagh, the Azerbaijani army launched a counter-offensive
operation and freed its historical territories from occupation in
just 44 days. In 2023, during a 23-hour anti-terror operation, the
separatist forces that illegally deployed military formations in
Garabagh were neutralised .
Against the backdrop of all these events, Armenia, which had
survived for decades with the help of other countries, realised
that even with the support of Western countries, it was powerless
against the Azerbaijani Army. However, the subversive plans of the
Armenian authorities, which pretended to be peace-loving, but
played games against Azerbaijan with their Western allies in the
background, did not last long.
Despite the meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and
Armenia in Almaty in May, which gave a significant impetus to the
peace agreement to be signed in the South Caucasus, Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinyan's refusal to meet with the President of Azerbaijan
at the 4th EPC summit in Oxford was another hindrance to a possible
rapprochement between the sides.
It is worth recalling that after the long-standing and resolved
Garabagh conflict, the Armenian government seemed interested in
peace. However, these events prove that Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinyan's "peace-oriented" decisions were only due to his
dwindling hopes for external support.
However, Armenia's shirking peace talks spilled the beans about
the involvement of a US representative in the Armenian Ministry of
Defence shortly before the London meeting, plus the European
Union's €10 million aid package. The immediate provocations by
Armenia towards Azerbaijan's Kalbajar and Tovuz districts
demonstrate the false nature of all peace calls to date.
It should be noted that such provocations by Armenia are not the
first and have a continuous nature. France's provision of lethal
weapons to Armenia and the European Union's initial military aid of
ten million euros under the "European Peace Fund" encourage Armenia
to commit such provocations.
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence has once again warned
Armenia and its patrons to refrain from its intention to create a
new conflict zone in the South Caucasus region. It is clear that
these steps will obstruct peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The
Azerbaijani leadership is well aware of the Armenian mindset.
Yerevan's search for the slightest "hope fragment" to evade peace
and lay the foundation for new tension in the region while making
peace calls without correcting the mistakes that hinder peace
embodies Armenian hypocrisy and falsehood.
Another issue is the rumours in the media about Armenia's
military procurements. Although the Armenian leadership denies
these acts, many organisations claim that Yerevan is buying large
quantities of weapons. Considering that Armenia lost a significant
portion of its weapons during the 44-day war and is now trying to
restore its military potential, these procurements could be seen as
normal. However, Yerevan's inability to choose the right time for
this undermines the steps taken towards peace. We underline that
the Armenian army, militarised by other countries for over 30
years, could not withstand the Azerbaijani army for even 2 months.
Moreover, while these two countries never had a chance to make
peace, actions that could delay or even postpone the process
suggest either some external forces pushing Armenia into a new war
or the incompetent policies of Armenia's narrow-minded ruling
circles.
Nearly four years have passed since the adoption of the November
10 declaration, which emphasises the necessity of signing the peace
agreement. During this period, instead of fulfilling important
demands such as handing over maps of the mines planted in Garabagh
to Baku and amending the Armenian constitution by removing its
preamble about the territorial claims against Azerbaijan, the
Armenian side delays the peace process with empty statements.
It is interesting that instead of responding to Azerbaijan's
demand for peace, Armenia resorts to new provocations, and this can
be observed especially at the borders. Undoubtedly, Azerbaijan has
a certain limit to its tolerance for such provocations. If there is
no room for discussion at the table, it may be time to meet in the
field at any moment.
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