Azernews.Az

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Armenia's current political standoff proves once again that the country is the main culprit in the tensions on the contact line between Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces, said a well-known Azerbaijani expert.

Mubariz Ahmedoglu, Director of the Political Innovation and Technology Center, said Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan, head of the "Karabakh Clan", has started a new attack on opposition leader Gagik Tsarukyan.

"Tsarukyan is able to oust the "Karabakh Clan" from power. That's why Sargsyan ordered crackdown on him and his supporters. Being busy with Tsarukyan, Sargsyan has ceased armistice infringements on the frontline," he noted.

Ahmedoglu said the co-chairs of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe should consider that Armenia's role in exacerbating the situation on the contact line has already been proven.

"If Sargsyan continues to violate the truce even after the meeting with the co-chairs, then responsibility for the violation lies on the Minsk Group mediators," he added.

Activity of the Minsk Group has brought the region closer to a war, instead of zooming Nagorno-Karabakh region out of warfare, said Ahmedoglu.

"RPGs and mortars are used during fire exchanges on the frontline, while missiles are tested during exercises. They could further be used in military operations. In this case, the co-chairs should come up with a strong political will in preparing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which is the key for settling the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh," he added.

Ahmedoglu believes that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement could resolve all issues related to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It could also bring the presidents of the two countries to the negotiation table, he said. "If one of the presidents refuses to take part in the preparation of this agreement, it means that he doesn't support the peaceful settlement of the conflict."

He went on to blame the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs for showing indifference towards Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, which, in turn, draws the same approach from the Azerbaijani authorities towards the mediators.

The statement issued by Armenia's Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan following his meeting with the Minsk Group middlemen showed that Armenia doesn't take serious the regulation option offered by the co-chairs, believes Ahmedoglu. "Even in Munich Nalbandyan said Armenia is doing what it considers necessary, no matter what the co-chairs say."

Touching upon the Madrid Principles for peace talks, which the expert calls a basis for the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, Ahmedoglu said if the co-chairs still fail to observe the content of this document, it shows that their main goal is not settling the conflict.

"The mediators, who lack sincerity and are in fact a tool at the hands of Armenians, cannot impede Azerbaijan to liberate its occupied territories," he added.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.

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