Latest ICG report on Karabakh is half step forward as compared to previous ones
"Judging from the press release, the International Crisis Group report on the Karabakh conflict is a half step forward as compared to previous ones. Earlier, the ICG used to promote a wrong antithesis between the Armenian and Azeri "communities" of NK although it was obvious that the core of the conflict was not inside Karabakh but in Baku-Stepanakert relations," former Russian Co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Amb. Vladimir Kazimirov told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter when commenting on the latest ICG report.
The report reflects pressing issues such as calls to stop military rhetoric and armament race, according to him. "However, the way the question is formulated is imperfect, since the necessity of preventing incidents and accumulation of tensions is not mentioned. It's high time for the ICG to understand who is interested in all this," he said.
"Every day the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reports about incidents at the frontline. If it is interested in their prevention so why doesn't it observe the agreement on strengthening the ceasefire signed under the OSCE aegis February 4, 1995 with the blessing of Heydar Aliyev, Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Robert Kocharian? Yerevan and Stepanakert have many times expressed readiness to comply with the agreement if Azerbaijan upholds the initiative. Incidents are pregnant with escalation. ICG's calls to treat the menace of war seriously are not sufficient. The report should have mentioned that blitzkrieg will have no success and any of the sides must not hope for tolerance of the international community," he said.
"It is not enough to promote peace. Any possibility of a new war should be excluded. Organizations like the ICG should urge the conflicting sides to conclude an agreement on exclusively peaceful resolution of disputes. Even with full support of the leadership a pseudo-politician could say "One, two, five, ten Let Azerbaijan lose nine wars but it will win the tenth even if 90 per cent of the population will be involved in it." This statement proves how Baku propagandizes war. To say that war is better than compromise means to reject any peaceful solution. Disseminators of European values should by all means counteract such a position," the former Co-chair said.
The report reflects pressing issues such as calls to stop military rhetoric and armament race, according to him. "However, the way the question is formulated is imperfect, since the necessity of preventing incidents and accumulation of tensions is not mentioned. It's high time for the ICG to understand who is interested in all this," he said.
"Every day the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reports about incidents at the frontline. If it is interested in their prevention so why doesn't it observe the agreement on strengthening the ceasefire signed under the OSCE aegis February 4, 1995 with the blessing of Heydar Aliyev, Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Robert Kocharian? Yerevan and Stepanakert have many times expressed readiness to comply with the agreement if Azerbaijan upholds the initiative. Incidents are pregnant with escalation. ICG's calls to treat the menace of war seriously are not sufficient. The report should have mentioned that blitzkrieg will have no success and any of the sides must not hope for tolerance of the international community," he said.
"It is not enough to promote peace. Any possibility of a new war should be excluded. Organizations like the ICG should urge the conflicting sides to conclude an agreement on exclusively peaceful resolution of disputes. Even with full support of the leadership a pseudo-politician could say "One, two, five, ten Let Azerbaijan lose nine wars but it will win the tenth even if 90 per cent of the population will be involved in it." This statement proves how Baku propagandizes war. To say that war is better than compromise means to reject any peaceful solution. Disseminators of European values should by all means counteract such a position," the former Co-chair said.
