The year of 2011 has been marked for the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR, or Artsakh as Armenians were calling it for centuries) with the 20th anniversary of its independence from the Soviet Union, Aram Avetisyan and Hovhannes Nikoghosyan write in an article posted in Foreign Policy Journal.

“One of the toughest challenges for the NKR since restoring its sovereignty remains convincing those against Artsakh’s freedom, and first of all – neighboring Azerbaijan, that the world has changed since 1991, and that decolonization processes take place much smoother with the adequate reaction by former members of a single political-administrative entity. Unfortunately, few capitals of former Soviet republics refuse to accept the new realities, and cherish a partial and selective retention of infamous Stalin’s deeds,” says the article titled Nagorno-Karabakh Republic: The First 20 Years of de-facto Independence.

“Relations between NKR and Azerbaijan remain complicated and hostile, which impedes the whole region’s comprehensive development and undermine stability and security of the South Caucasus. To promote a proper and unbiased understanding of the situation and, therefore, the search for a lasting peace and a predictable region, it is extremely important to set the facts straight,” it says.

“During the last decade, Artsakh, being deprived of international financial assistance except for the annual humanitarian assistance by U.S. Congress, proved to be able to restore from ruins its economy and infrastructure. Deepening of the democratic values remains the essential task for the republic’s authorities, which were elected through a voting monitored and assessed by international observers as free, democratic and transparent.”

The article goes on to say that “Artsakh and Azerbaijan are incompatibly different in their views and implementation of the sovereignty. The modern-day Azerbaijan represents a quasi-monarchic sultanate. The ruling Aliyev family suppresses any slight sign of freedom or disobedience in their country. Global human rights and economy watchdogs including Transparency International, Freedom House and Forbes journal traditionally mention Azerbaijan among the world’s most corrupted and non-free countries. Recently, discussions around the ruling family’s properties have swept world media outlets.”

“Baku’s foreign policy is nothing better. Besotted by easy petrodollars, Azerbaijan’s position on Karabakh remains far from constructive. Azeris deviate from the previous agreements, undermine international efforts to broker a peace deal. Instead of preparing its people for compromises and peace, warmongering and anti-Armenian takes the majority of the republic’s official communication. Clearly, bellicose statements by Azeri top and high-level officials and increasing military spendings jeopardize international efforts, including American, with regards to the Azerbaijan-Artsakh confrontation,” it emphasizes.

“Unlike Azerbaijan, the NKR remains committed to the peaceful resolution of the conflict. The position of Artsakh coincides with that of the international mediators in support for NKR’s resumed full-scale participation in the negotiations process. Restoring the proper format of negotiations and international recognition of the republic became an imperative need for achieving progress in the peace talks. Any positive settlement requires direct participation of the NKR.

And this is the least Azerbaijan must do for the sake of the South Caucasus’ future,” the article concludes.