Russia warns Baku against going to UN with Karabakh problem

October 3, 2011 - 09:24 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Moscow has openly warned Azerbaijan to give up attempts to transfer the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process to the United Nations.

“It’s the OSCE Minsk Group but not the UN dealing with the Nagorno Karabakh conflict,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said when requested by an Azeri journalist to comment on Armenia's non-fulfillment of UN Security Council resolution on Karabakh.

Lukashevich did not forget to mention that UN resolutions are non-binding and “this is a serious reason not to transfer the Karabakh conflict to this institution.”

The talks will protract for many years, given the fact that Azerbaijan constantly violates all peace resolutions and documents adopted by international organizations. Continuous ceasefire violations often result in casualties both among servicemen and civil population.

Another reason why Baku’s aspiration is not advantageous for Moscow is the latter’s role in the conflict settlement. Russia, being a co-chair country of the OSCE Minsk Group along with France and United States, has acquired the role of locomotive in the process, what allows it to keep control over Yerevan and Baku. With UN taking up the initiative, Russia will cede positions in the South Caucasus to the U.S., which is highly undesirable for Moscow.

Thus, one can easily presume that Russia has “shut the UN door” before Azerbaijan, which is forcing its way into by hook or by crook.