EU rep makes ridiculous attempts to be censor for Azerbaijani media Klaar's main mistake

EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar for some reason acts a censor of the Azerbaijani media.

“The Azerbaijani media outlets’ threats against Armenia are unacceptable. The real negotiations on border delimitation should be held, and all territorial disputes must be resolved peacefully,” he said.

The publications in the Armenian media outlets should be assessed.

Even after briefly reading, Klaar will see numerous publications containing not only threats, but also insults against Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani army, officials, as well as Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Moreover, the authors of such statements and publications not only are Armenian journalists and bloggers, but also politicians.

They still use phrases about mythical “Artsakh”, ethnic cleansing allegedly committed by Azerbaijan, the alleged occupation of Armenian lands by Azerbaijan.

Moreover, the Armenians even accuse Azerbaijan of an intention to start a new war against Armenia. Such statements are made by the Armenian top officials, including Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Moreover, French President Emmanuel Macron and French Minister of the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu voice the same nonsense.

However, Klaar has never condemned such statements, which hamper peace negotiations, in the speedy and positive outcome of which Baku has more than once expressed its interest.

“Today, we are in an active phase of peace talks with Armenia,” President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

“Once again, I’d like to say that it was our initiative to start peace negotiations. We have already had seven rounds of exchanges of comments with Armenian counterparts on a draft peace agreement. The recent meeting of the foreign ministers and also the meeting of the deputy prime ministers on the issue of border delimitation demonstrate that there is a good chance for settlement. As I said relatively recently, we are now closer to peace than ever before,” the president added.

Proceeding from the president’s statement, Baku is optimistic about peace negotiations with Armenia. Klaar should primarily focus on this aspect. Previously, Klaar made inappropriate statements, for example, expressing concern about the peaceful rally of environmental activists on the Lachin road.

We also remember Klaar’s position when Azerbaijan was forced to begin anti-terrorist measures in the Karabakh economic region. Klaar said that the information about the Azerbaijani mine victims is tragic, while at the same time he expressed the opinion that military operations would only complicate the situation.

“There is an urgent need to immediately establish a ceasefire to ensure real dialogue between Baku and the Karabakh Armenians, as the only way to achieve peaceful coexistence,” Klaar said.

This was another example of his attempt to benefit from both sides at once by making a statement that would please both Baku and Yerevan.

However, an attempt to equate the occupier and the victim of occupation is a strategy doomed to failure. Azerbaijan has achieved all its goals. President Aliyev made this statement following a meeting with the NATO Secretary General.

“During many years of our discussions, we always talked about the occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia. But now, for more than three years, these issues have been out of the topics of discussions. Because Azerbaijan restored its territorial integrity and sovereignty during the Second Karabakh War of 2020 and the last September's anti-terror operation. So, now full sovereignty over the territory of the country has been restored,” President Aliyev said.

Klaar’s task as EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia was to promote the peaceful settlement of conflicts in the region, as well as to encourage regional cooperation among Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia and, if necessary, with neighbouring countries.

Klaar has been dealing with these issues since 2017. However, most of his tasks were fulfilled despite his activity rather than thanks to him.

Indeed, there was no real benefit from Klaar in terms of a fair settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.

Klaar was always too busy trying to find a middle ground, even during the years when 20 per cent of Azerbaijan was under Armenian occupation.

That’s all in the past. Azerbaijan has fully restored its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Accordingly, we do not have a great need for Klaar’s advice and comments. Moreover, his term of mandate will expire in August 2024. So, his attempts to play the role of a censor for the Azerbaijani media outlets look inappropriate and even ridiculous.