Let the flags of peace and hope wave in the breeze... War-ravaged land yearns for tranquility and creation

On February 7, an agreement on a project funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme to provide technical assistance to the Mine Action Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan was signed in Shusha.

Numerous projects are signed on various subjects. It is hard to remember them all. In addition, Azerbaijan is a self-sufficient country and used to solve its problems by itself. And ANAMA, with strong support from the state and years of experience, has advanced technologies for detecting and removing mines and unexploded ordnance. At the same time, it shows good results, as stressed by international experts. Of course, we are grateful for the help, but, with all due respect, it's not a big deal.

But if you think about it, it is not so simple.

To begin with, let us note the theme and purpose of the project. It aims to support the return of displaced people through assistance to ANAMA. That is, the European Union and UNDP are joining forces to help Azerbaijan to ensure the safety of people forced to leave their homes 30 years ago and are waiting to return to their homes. The international community supports Azerbaijan in its efforts to make the lands, generously planted with the deadly "souvenirs" of the occupiers, livable again. It supports it through deeds. And although the amount of assistance is not commensurate to the scale of the problem, the contribution is symbolic.

But even more important is the location of the ceremony. It is no secret that, following their own "Armenian" logic, our neighbours have tried time and again to convince the world that there were "more occupied" and "less occupied" territories under their occupation. If you listen to them, they have never occupied anything, since the whole globe belongs to them. But certain places, according to them, especially the Armenian ones. And Shusha, if the Armenians are to be believed (but we know better than to believe them), is one of those places.

I remember March 2022, when a high-level meeting was held in Shusha between the Azerbaijani government and the UN system. Armenians were outraged. They complained to the UN secretary general and wrote a paper on behalf of Armenians working for the UN. They said decent international organisations should not go to Shusha. And the recent event did not arouse positive emotions in Iravan either. Our neighbours, for some reason, were very upset by the very fact of its conduct, not to mention the heartburn they felt at the news that someone would help Azerbaijan. And all the more so when we remember that these "someone" are international organisations.

International organisations in general, as we know, are not overly sympathetic to Azerbaijan. UNESCO alone is worth mentioning. And we have a lot of questions for the UN. But with all the nuances, they have not lost their conscience completely. Therefore, they asked the complainants what their arguments are. That is, they wanted to know why the international organisations, operating on the internationally recognized territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, should refrain from visiting certain parts of this territory.

The answer was an outcry about betraying democratic values, selling their souls to the devil (or rather, to shaitan), desecrating Christian shrines, and so on. International organisations ignored them.

Apart from its significance for humanitarian demining, the draft signed on February 7 is also important for both Armenians and their patrons to understand that attempts to sell black for white and vice versa are futile. After the liberation of its territories, impudently held by Armenians for 30 years despite numerous attempts to settle the matter peacefully, Azerbaijan has the right to conduct any activities on its land where and when it wants. All our partners, who respect international law and do not want to look like trustees of separatists, must respect our choice.

That said, it must be stressed that our country regards the newly signed demining initiative as a step towards peace, albeit a small one. It is impossible to restore normal relations between Azerbaijani and Armenian citizens of Azerbaijan without eliminating the mine threat. The same applies to economic ties, and in the future, we would like to work with UN specialised agencies to gradually normalise relations between Azerbaijanis and Armenians. Of course, the process is not easy, it is painful, and the right conditions must be in place. But it is no less important.

On February 7 this year the fog shrouded Shusha. But even the fog could not conceal certain truths - the land, devastated by 30 years of bloodshed, yearns for peace and creation. Demining is one of the most important conditions for their achievement, and all people of goodwill should be grateful to those who assist in this. In this case, the European Union and the UNDP as to our Mine Action Agency, by the way. And despite the thick fog, the flags of the organisers were clearly visible. Without intending to idealise or simplify the sometimes difficult relations with our foreign partners, I would like to point out that on that day they appeared to us as flags of peace and hope.