LARGE-SCALE MILITARY EXERCISE IN THE KARABAKH THEATER

Lragir.am
20 April 06

Debates on the Karabakh issue are intensifying. Their relatedness
with the developments in Iran is becoming more visible. The military
exercise in Karabakh is underway, and according to the minister of
defense of NKR, the exercise is unprecedented, for it checks the
readiness of the armed forces. Serge Sargsyan, the defense minister
of Armenia, who participated in the military exercise, announced,
“Armenia is the guarantor of security of NKR.” The minister said,
“I think all the fuss that the Azerbaijanis are making about this
exercise is inadequate. Two weeks ago they held a military training
in 50-60 km from here, were we also supposed to fuss.”

It is a fact, however, that both sides are holding a large-scale
military exercise in the Karabakh theater.

Also, new tendencies are outlining in the standpoint of the European
Union. In a news conference in Yerevan French MP Marie Anne Isler
Beguin, the head of the delegation of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary
Cooperation Committee said the Europarliament finds that it does not
have a clear road map for the settlement of the Karabakh conflict,
nevertheless, the EU must become engaged in the settlement of the
conflict. She said that the claim of the people of Nagorno Karabakh
should be satisfied, and Azerbaijan must respect the right for
self-determination of nations.

With regard to the seven regions, forming the security zone of NKR,
Marie Anne Isler Beguin emphasized that the Europarliament does not
consider either “occupied or liberated areas”. She said these are
seven regions around Nagorno Karabakh, where the refugees should
return and decide their status.

If Azerbaijan recognizes the right for self-determination of the people
of Karabakh, Armenia is ready to consider the question of elimination
of the consequences of the war. This standpoint was expressed by the
foreign minister of Armenia Vardan Oskanyan. By saying “consequences
of the war” he meant the territories and the return of refugees.

NKR President Arkady Ghukasyan thinks that Azerbaijan is
temporizing. “Today it is not ready for a settlement,” said the
president. Not being ready means Aliev has not agreed yet to recognize
the right for self-determination of the people of NKR. However,
this is apparently possible, considering that in late April Aliev
will visit Washington. Probably, the U.S. President will “talk him
into” accepting that Karabakh people also have the right. Now we can
simply guess what Aliev might demand in return for this agreement. It
may become known during the visit of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair
Stephen Mann (U.S.) to Yerevan.

It is notable that on these days the deputy foreign minister of Russia
Grigory Karasin is visiting Armenia. He is visiting Armenia on the
occasion of the regional consultation of the Russian ambassadors to
Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey. In this context the president
of Iran announces that he is going to visit Azerbaijan.