Azernews.Az

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Yerevan should understand that Armenia’s current policy regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan is not constructive, it’s dead-end and will not lead to a positive result, but will only worsen the situation in the country.

Azerbaijan still places certain hopes on the sanity of the new leadership of Armenia. Nikol Pashinyan’s team must realize that without restoring relations with Azerbaijan, it’s impossible to bring Armenia out of the deadlock into which it has driven itself by pursuing a policy of aggression and occupation.

Azerbaijan justly considers it impossible to involve representatives of the illegal regime created in occupied Karabakh in the talks process over Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. By setting its own terms on the need to involve Karabakh in the negotiations, the Armenian PM is well aware that for Baku this is unacceptable and that Azerbaijan will never agree to this. Therefore, these steps can only be regarded as postponing the problem.

The previous governments of Armenia in every possible way tried to evade the fulfillment of their direct international obligations. As a UN member, Armenia is also bound by the provisions of the charter of this global organization, the norms and principles of international law.

For years, the Armenian leadership did not show the political will to fulfill such demands of the international community as the inadmissibility of the use of force to seize territory, respect for the territorial integrity and inviolability of state borders, as well as the resolution of international disputes by peaceful means.

İt is noteworthy that the long-standing occupation policy of Armenia has led to the isolation of Yerevan from large-scale regional cooperation, stagnation and a deep socio-political crisis. Eventually, the velvet revolution took place in Armenia last year, which brought Pashinyan’s government to power.

Pashinyan should adjust his external course and engage in a more constructive dialogue with Baku. For this, he should transfer the policy of Armenia to a more constructive course.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has said in a recent interview with the Russian Kommersant edition that Baku took a pause in order for the new Armenian political leadership to become familiar with details of the negotiation process.

He noted that this transitional stage has been completed, negotiations have resumed both at the level of the leaders of the two countries and at the level of the Foreign Ministers, adding that the dialogue is taking place in the existing format, which inspires some optimism.

Some experts believe that discussions on issues such as the return of territories, the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh and the return of refugees should be postponed to redtore mutual trust. However, how to restore mutual trust in the presence of many people expelled from their native cities and villages?

The parties should act in the direction of a step-by-step settlement, the beginning of which should be the withdrawal of the occupying forces from the territories of Azerbaijan with the subsequent return to the internally displaced persons. This is exactly what will create tangible conditions for building trust.

Azerbaijan is a party clearly interested in the early settlement of the conflict. The country continues to hope to resolve the conflict through negotiations.

However, the Armenian side should also be interested in peace. The delaying of the conflict brought innumerable human suffering to the people of Armenia. The seizure of the territories of Azerbaijan and their continued occupation throughout all these years did not bring any tangible dividends to Armenia. The occupation of Karabakh led to an increase in the level of poverty, unemployment and outflow of population from the country.

If Armenia pursues the goals of resolving the conflict, the country should demonstrate its political will and practical steps in this direction. Azerbaijan would strongly welcome this approach, which should not only be declared, but also implemented.

People on both sides of the conflict must feel that peace is coming. Azerbaijani refugees must return to their ancestral lands, which will lead Armenia out of the state of blockade. Baku behaves calmly and confidently in its conflict resolution policy. This sustained and wise position of Azerbaijan will inevitably yield a result.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

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