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Amid ongoing Armenian instigations, Azerbaijan may refuse honoring obligations under tripartite deal - expert

6 March 2023 18:03 (UTC+04:00)
Amid ongoing Armenian instigations, Azerbaijan may refuse honoring obligations under tripartite deal - expert
Sabina Mammadli
Sabina Mammadli
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Whether Armenia likes it or not, the current regional developments have created a vicious circle. The ongoing peaceful protests on the Lachin-Khankandi road, which seem to deeply upset Armenia, were initially triggered by the misuse of the road by Armenia starting from the end of the Second Karabakh War.

Despite that, Armenia still continues smuggling arms, landmines, manpower & military supplies in the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan through other alternative unpaved roads. Such provocations can’t possibly go without response and when Azerbaijan tried to check an Armenian vehicle, the illegal armed group opened fire causing casualties on both sides.

Currently, despite the obligations in the tripartite statements, there are thousands of illegal Armenian troops in Azerbaijani territory, which Armenia has not withdrawn out of Karabakh under the temporary control of the Russian peace-keeping contingent.

In her comment to Azernews, Azerbaijani political expert Aytan Gurbanova underlined that those provocations were expected and Azerbaijan took adequate countermeasures. She pointed out that to prevent similar events from occurring in the future, all armed Armenian illegal groups should be removed from Karabakh.

“The main responsibility for the measures to be taken in this direction lies on the Russian peacekeepers because their specific obligations are clearly stated in paragraph 4 of the tripartite statement. Otherwise, such provocations, which have become permanent, can be prevented only by a large-scale anti-terrorist operation by the Azerbaijani army,” the pundit emphasized.

Recalling President Ilham Aliyev's proposal regarding the establishment of checkpoints on the Azerbaijani-Armenian borders during the Munich Security Conference, the pundit stated that this could be the optimal solution to prevent possible provocations under the current conditions.

Gurbanova argued that such a conclusion can be made taking into account facts that led to an almost three-month-long picketing of Azerbaijani eco-activists on the Shusha-Khankandi road, as well as other successive provocations demonstrating that the Russian peacekeepers temporarily deployed do not only take a neutral position regarding the provision of territorial security and national interests to Azerbaijan but also don’t fulfill their obligations.

“Therefore, Azerbaijan has the full right to control the use of the Lachin road only for humanitarian purposes. These mechanisms can be implemented in the regions of their temporary deployment, in accordance with the order agreed with the command of the peacekeeping contingent. Moreover, such measures as enhanced entry and exit checks and security measures with the help of certain technical equipment may actually be enough to prevent sabotage,” the political analyst underlined.

Speaking about the failure of the Russian peacekeepers in fulfilling their obligations, Gurbanova expressed that facts such as the exploitation of Azerbaijan's national resources, organization of illegal visits by citizens of third countries to Karabakh, and arming of Armenian subversive groups are clear violations of the tripartite declaration.

“Although the official Moscow tries to present it in a different form, the Russian peacekeepers are also responsible for the provocations on the border along with the Armenians. When approached from this point of view, according to repeated statements of President Ilham Aliyev, the issue of Azerbaijan's refusal to fulfill its obligations under the tripartite statement could also come up. Under such circumstances, the activity of the peacekeeping mission will be reconsidered.

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Sabina Mammadli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SabinaMmdl

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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