Will UNSC follow Armenian lies?
Political pundits on Caliber.Az

INTERVIEWS  15 August 2023 - 12:48

On August 11, Armenia appealed to the UN Security Council, categorically demanding to convene an extraordinary meeting "in connection with the deterioration of the humanitarian situation due to the forced complete blockade of the civilian population of Nagorno-Karabakh".

Of course, there is no such problem and there never was, and all messages on this topic, such as “famine”, “genocide” and other fat-faced passions, are simply strongly inflated by Yerevan and the Armenian lobby. By disputing the actions of Azerbaijan on its own territory, the integrity of which, it itself has recognised, Armenia almost directly makes it clear that it intends to withdraw from the negotiations process.

Commenting on the current situation in a conversation with Caliber.Az, MP Samad Seyidov, head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, chairman of the committee on international and inter-parliamentary relations of the Milli Majlis, head of the working group on inter-parliamentary relations between Azerbaijan and the United States, emphasised that the step taken by Armenia is another element of its provocative politics, which lately demonstrates extreme deconstructivism.

“Within 24 hours, the withdrawal from the agreements that were reached on the Aghdam-Khankandi road, and now the appeal to the UN, the stimulation of international organizations once again show that today the Armenian authorities are becoming hostages of the ideas of the separatists, who have long held the local Armenian population hostage in Karabakh. Unfortunately, this tilt towards revanchism of the Armenian leadership takes place, and it is not yet able to overcome it at this stage.

“And no matter what happens in the UN, it will first of all not change the reality created by Azerbaijan; and secondly, any adopted appeals, resolutions, decrees, if they do not correspond to the regional reality that has developed and exists today, will contradict international laws and the principles of the organization that approved them - in this case, the UN. Therefore, I do not really believe in the prospect of adopting such a document,” Seyidov said.

In his opinion, the provocation of the Armenians can make a lot of noise, but since there are still sober heads in the politics of many countries, the road will be closed to such resolutions.

“And if this does happen, it means that the UN itself is following the path of complete deconstructivism and does not meet the requirements that are imposed on such organizations in the world today. This is not an indicator that Azerbaijan is weak and could not do something, but an indicator that the UN, which has recently demonstrated inability to make adequate decisions on a lot of territorial conflicts, worthy of being fairly and objectively resolved within the framework of international laws, is not in the state of doing anything. But I still believe that the sober heads, who sit both in the Security Council and in the UN, realizing that the Armenian lobby is trying to force them to turn off the true path, will not take such a step, and the objectivity of the approach will be preserved,” summed up S. Seyidov.

At the same time, political expert and MP Rasim Musabayov believes that “it will not be possible to agree on the text of a resolution so that Russia and China vote for the Armenian document, and at the same time, Britain would not raise its objections, and even if it turned out to be rather unpleasant for Azerbaijan".

Even if a resolution is adopted, it will become an appeal, and not contain any binding requirements with threatening wording. Such a document will not pass through the UN Security Council, Rasim Musabayov has no doubts.

“But in any case, Azerbaijan saw how small, dependent Armenia spat on four UN resolutions and two resolutions of the UN General Assembly, which called for it to withdraw troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories. And no matter what the UN adopts, it will not force Baku to turn off its path. Moreover, I think that the members of the UN Security Council should be brought to the attention that in the event that any decisions are made that will become an obstacle to the peaceful settlement process, Azerbaijan intends to restore the operation of its constitution and laws in its entirety on its territory, without looking back at any resolutions,” Rasim Musabayov summed up.

Ex-Foreign Minister Tofig Zulfugarov believes Azerbaijan has a watertight argument in the discussion - the road for cargo through Aghdam is open.

“Therefore, I think this is a blank shot of Armenia and the UN Security Council, after discussion, will simply recommend using both roads... The Armenian argument referring to the 2020 Tripartite Statement with the “obligation of free and unhindered access” is very weak. Let's not forget that in this document there are no obligations of "free and unhindered access" in relation to the Lachin road. The obligation of unhindered communication is indicated there only in relation to the road connecting the western regions of Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan, that is, in relation to the Zangazur corridor,” the ex-minister noted.

In his opinion, nothing but a statement by the chairman of the UN Security Council, outlining the corrected positions of both sides, is to be expected.

“The Russian Federation cannot reach an agreement with the West, and France will not be able to create a mechanism for cooperation with Russia on a temporary platform through the British and Americans. There is no need for Moscow to make sharp anti-Turkish movements head of Putin's visit to Türkiye,” Tofig Zulfugarov believes.

Caliber.Az