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Elnur Enveroglu

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Armenia and its affiliated separatist regime in Karabakh have once again shown that they are not in favor of peace in the region. Yesterday, a group of Armenian terrorists, who wanted to enter Azerbaijan’s Karabakh with smuggled weapons, resorted to provocation again.

In a comment on the incident to Azernews, Israel's former Communications Minister Ayoob Kara said.

Dear minister, first of all, thank you very much for taking your valuable time to give us an interview.

The first question is about the armed provocation of Armenian separatists in Karabakh who attempted to smuggle weapons and mines into Azerbaijani territory from Armenia through an alternative dirt road bypassing the operational Lachin-Xankandi road.

Up until today, the Armenian government and the so-called heads of the separatist regime in Karabakh have made groundless claims on all platforms that Azerbaijan has blocked the road for Karabakh Armenians - the only route from Armenia to Azerbaijan’s Khankandi. However, Azerbaijan has evidently provided an open and safe road to Karabakh-Armenians for humanitarian purposes.

Q: How would you assess this provocation of Armenia?

A: Azerbaijan has returned to its own lands and no country can impose dominance over her sovereignty. I think that there are some forces that do not want the situation in Karabakh to turn normal; therefore, Armenia is always supported in the region. In my opinion, Armenians should understand that they are part of the game, i.e. victims of extremism, and they should find a way to negotiate with their Azerbaijani neighbor. To my understanding, living in peace and harmony is the only solution to achieving regional peace. To be honest, nobody wants war or to live in a negative atmosphere that mainly stirs up conflicts.

Q: At the meeting at the Munich Security Conference, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev initiated the establishment of checkpoints on the Lachin road and Zangazur corridor. In what more effective way can this control be beefed up? What experiences can Israel share with Azerbaijan in this field, especially technologically?

A: In response to your question, I want to mention our previous meetings with Azerbaijani leadership about the most advanced technologies to use in Karabakh. Israel has all kinds of technologies that can accelerate the infrastructure-building process, including mine issues, re-establishment of agriculture, cybersecurity, control of areas by means of drones, and the most advanced camera systems, etc. By means of Kibbutz and Mashav agricultural programs and training methods, we can help in Karabakh to make the project of Great Return to be implemented faster as well the villages to be revived.

Besides, we can offer the smartest drones and relevant equipment to control the areas that have connections with Azerbaijan’s borders - both with Iran and Armenia. Our cybersecurity system is strong enough, and I believe that especially the Azerbaijani military can advance from a variety of our technologies in the process of cleaning its territories from terrorist elements.

Q: Azerbaijan has a legal basis to conduct an anti-terror operation in order to clear all terrorist elements in Karabakh. However, Azerbaijan has not yet taken this step, and Iran and other pro-separatist forces plotting armed incidents in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh. What would be the best alternative option for Azerbaijan to solve this problem?

A: I think, Iran, being the worst neighbor of Azerbaijan, will also be the country pulling Armenia into the vortex with itself. First, it is because the west is not in warm relations with Iran, and on the other hand, Armenia is getting closer to it that in some cases doesn’t please the west.

Of course, today many can think that the West is not supporting Azerbaijan, but stands by Armenia. I am not talking about France or its pro-Armenian regime.

I think Azerbaijan, by taking a peaceful solution to this problem, is making the right choice. Currently, the west is engaged in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. This makes the world give less attention to what is happening in the South Caucasus, especially the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. I believe that as soon as the war in Ukraine comes to an end, the West will come back to this issue. For the West, no one can be dominant around this region and all efforts should be directed toward maintaining peace in the region.

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Elnur Enveroglu is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on @ElnurMammadli1

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