"Yerevan should prioritise relations with Baku rather than with Moscow, Paris and Washington"
Foreign experts on Caliber.Az

INTERVIEWS  01 October 2023 - 12:23

The process of reintegration of the Armenian population of Garabagh into Azerbaijani society is not an easy matter. Baku stands firm, declaring at the highest level that the rights and safety of the Armenian population of Garabagh will be protected. Moreover, the Armenian community of Garabagh is presented with conditions for reintegration that cover respect for their religious, educational, cultural, municipal and other rights, which are reflected in international conventions, and which Azerbaijan has signed in accordance with its Constitution and its international obligations.

So what about international experts, how do they assess Azerbaijan's victory, the reintegration process and the possibility of concluding a peace treaty with Armenia? Caliber.Az tried to find out by interviewing foreign experts.

According to David Eidelman, the Israeli political strategist and historian, head of the project “Asia. The Great Game” on ITON TV channel, Azerbaijan managed to restore full sovereignty over Garabagh as a result of a well-calibrated strategy, both military and diplomatic.

“But achieving this seemed impossible. But Baku was able to do it. And now we can say with great confidence that new great prospects are opening up for the South Caucasus. At the same time, I think we can congratulate not only the people of Azerbaijan but also the people of Armenia, who, because of the Garabagh adventure, found themselves at a dead end of historical development. Armenia has become an object of political games by external players, in particular France and Russia.

Now, Armenia must finally become a subject country that determines its own life and development and does not depend on external patrons and sponsors. But to do this, it needs to seek contacts with Baku and Ankara. Relations with them are more important than with Moscow, Paris and Washington. If Armenia were a little smarter, they would have returned Garabagh themselves much earlier, and would already be on the path to building a prosperous future,” said Eidelman.

According to Ukrainian diplomat and international lawyer Vadim Tryukhan, Azerbaijan’s victory is historic and will be written about in textbooks on international relations. But this is only one side of the coin.

“Because after a victory, a very long process of post-conflict resolution begins, and here, too, we must keep our eyes open, as they say. It is already clear that the EU and the United States are putting forward demands on Azerbaijan, for example, regarding the admission of international organizations to Garabagh. From my experience working in the OSCE mission in Croatia at the height of the inter-ethnic conflict, I can say that after the Croatian-Serbian war there was a very painful and lengthy process of reconciliation. And here the right approach in the spirit of the already well-known strategy ‘Return, Reconstruction, Rehabilitation’ is very important. The most important thing is reconciliation so that people can live together.”

“In Croatia, for example, this was very difficult to achieve because the Serbs had a hard time accepting the reality that Zagreb managed to win. Therefore, from our banks of the Dnieper, I would like to wish the Azerbaijani and Armenian peoples to quickly turn this page and not divide each other into ‘winners’ and ‘losers.’ It is also important for Ukraine that peace finally reigns in the South Caucasus region, so that all contradictions between the parties are one day completely eliminated. We really want to develop relations with both friendly Azerbaijan and Armenia,” Tryukhan noted.

According to Georgian political scientist Simon Kopadze, the full restoration of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity is the greatest contribution to the history of conflicts of this type. The bloodiest conflict in the South Caucasus, which was artificially created by external forces, has been resolved.

“The solution to the Garabagh problem, the liquidation of ‘Artsakh’ even for Armenia itself is an extremely useful step, because it will finally begin to determine its foreign policy and will cease to be an instrument of someone’s interests. For many years to come, Armenians have received a hard lesson that they should never quarrel with their neighbours, that they should not search for outside partners to confront their neighbours. On the contrary, together with our neighbors, we need to build the collective security of the region. This is much more prudent and effective.

For Georgia itself, the history of Azerbaijan is a very important illustrative example, which should be carefully studied.

Once again, I would like to congratulate the Azerbaijani people and President Ilham Aliyev on this great achievement, wish good health to him and all Azerbaijani brothers and sisters", Kopadze concluded.

Caliber.Az