Good ties with Baku or protection of Volkov-Vardanyan tandem? Moscow should make up its mind

On December 3 and 7, negotiations were held between the commanders of the Russian peacekeeping contingent deployed temporarily in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and representatives of various structures of our country. As a result, the sides came to an agreement that starting from December 10, specialists from the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, State Service for Property Affairs, and "AzerGold" CJSC will carry out preliminary monitoring to prevent facts of illegal exploitation of mineral deposits in the territory of Azerbaijan where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed. Including the inspection of mineral deposits, in particular, the Gyzylbulag gold mine and Demirli copper-molybdenum deposit.

The fact is that both mines, which are the property of the Republic of Azerbaijan, are illegally exploited, which is a blatant pillaging of natural resources of a foreign country and the aggravation of environmental consequences through barbaric mining. Baku repeatedly addressed to the RPC commanders with demands to stop the illegal activities of the Karabakh separatists and their patrons, but they didn't even respond, so there was no need to ask them for concrete actions to stop the development of the mines. Moreover, contrary to the agreement, the peacekeepers do everything possible to prevent the Azerbaijani specialists from doing their job, namely to inspect the mines and determine the extent of the damage to the state and nature.

Thus, on December 10, the employees of the specialized Azerbaijani agencies did not manage to visit the territories where precious minerals, such as gold and molybdenum, which is extremely important for heavy metallurgy, are illegally and predatorily mined. Some of the Armenians living in Karabakh, apparently encouraged by the oligarch Ruben Vardanyan, who was sent there by Moscow for this purpose, staged an action. A crowd of inadequate Karabakh Armenians led by this so-called "state minister" was waiting for the Azerbaijani ecologists at the mines and tried to enter into negotiations with the Azerbaijani delegation, but Baku and its representatives have never and will never discuss anything with the impostor. What contacts with separatists can be after Azerbaijan's final liberation of its territories as a result of the 44-day war, victorious for our country? Baku has repeatedly stated that it is ready to talk only with people who live in Karabakh and want to live there, but not with Moscow's spies and fierce separatists.

In this case, first of all, the matter concerns the behavior of Russian peacekeepers. The Azerbaijani side has a lot of claims to them, and the story about illegal mining is only one of a number of violations of the Russian peacekeepers' powers. Even in spite of a preliminary agreement literally on the eve of monitoring, they did not take any measures to ensure access to the mines for purely civil Azerbaijani specialists. They were practically unconcerned about their safety, watching calmly as a raging mob of separatists blocked the passage to the mines.

In connection with this situation, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry sent a note to the Russian side with an appeal to ensure unhindered access of Azerbaijani representatives to the said fields. The statement of official Baku stresses the inadmissibility of obstructing the activity of the Azerbaijani monitoring group and imposing any conditions.

It is obvious that the Armenian side has once again committed a provocation, which was undoubtedly orchestrated by a criminal conspiracy of General Volkov and Vardanyan. Vardanyan's arrival in Karabakh must have been coordinated with Moscow - too quickly the "minister of state" and General Volkov got on well with each other.

Facts are inexorable, and however much we would like it, we must admit that Russian peacekeepers not only do not try but evidently do not want to follow either trilateral statements or the format of their task in Karabakh. Everything suggests that the RPC is unfriendly to anyone from the Azerbaijani side - environmentalists, journalists, and others. And it is even more important that it will try to prevent any checks so that the criminal ties of the peacekeepers' command with the separatist regime and common dark deals would not come to light.

Recent events have shown that the RPC command is practically an accomplice to the crimes of the Karabakh separatists, still posing as the "masters" of Karabakh. Without the knowledge and connivance of the peacekeepers, the illegal exploitation of mineral deposits in the territory of Azerbaijan by the representatives of the illegal entity would have been impossible. Here, undoubtedly, everything is as in the well-known proverb - "one hand washed another and both wash the face". Vardanyan's presence in the Azerbaijani lands, in particular, confirms this logic. The Volkov-Vardanyan tandem in Moscow is today plundering Azerbaijan's national wealth and spreading ecological terror in the Karabakh economic region. In this context, why would the Kremlin want to become a shadow beneficiary of the Karabakh mines?

It is astounding that the notorious format of Russian peacekeepers for some reason allows third-country nationals, in particular citizens of Iran, France, etc., to enter Azerbaijani territories. But the true owners of these lands are forbidden by peacekeepers to move on their land. And then the Kremlin wonders why Azerbaijan is suddenly dissatisfied with peacekeepers and Russian mediation in general. It is not a coincidence that in Azerbaijan the RPC is already associated with the notorious 366th regiment. The Azerbaijani public television frankly stressed the similarity of the Russian "peacemaking" with the actions of the Soviet military on January 20 in Baku, then in Karabakh, and, as an apotheosis, in Khojaly.

By the way, the footage filmed during today's protest held by Azerbaijani environmental activists and NGOs on the road to Shusha clearly shows the peacekeepers installing machine guns and using violence to intimidate journalists and other participants in the event. Then the RPC even brought heavy military equipment to the place of action. But the Azerbaijani activists are not intimidated - they are preparing for the evening and are not going anywhere until the Commander of the Russian peacekeepers, Volkov, shows up. Moreover, they have hoisted an Azerbaijani flag over the rally site to remind the RPC command once again whose land they are on. For Azerbaijanis who witnessed the tragic events of January 1990, the current situation is painfully reminiscent of those terrible times.

Moscow, which was boycotted by the whole world after the invasion of Ukraine, should understand that Volkov's illegal actions in Karabakh, liberated from occupation, can cause serious damage to Russian-Azerbaijani relations. It is time for Russia to set priorities - cooperation with Baku or enrichment of Volkov and Vardanyan at the expense of Azerbaijani national wealth. Otherwise, Azerbaijan will once again have to demonstrate "who runs the house" and on whose land the Volkov and Vardanyan gang is temporarily walking.