About Kosovo events, or there is no place for peacekeeping forces in
Azerbaijan

19 February 2008 [13:10] – Today.Az

What will the Azerbaijani diplomacy take from the recent events around
Kosovo, considering modern realities on the Karabakh negotiations?

Kosovo’s independence is an unquestioned precedent for Armenians
of the former Nagorno Karanakh Autonomous Region. The differences
between the conflicts, their history and stage of development have
nothing to do with it. Only the facts of forced alteration of borders
of the state on the OSCE area are a precedent. If one exception from
the OSCE Security Constitution, that is the Helsinki principle. can
be made-why not make two or three exceptions?

In the light of Kosovo’s being a precedent for Nagorno Karabakh,
the Prague congress on which talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia
have been held since 2004, seems even more inappropriate for us.

The well-known essence of the Prague process is as follows: Azerbaijan
agrees to a postponed referendum on the status of Nagorno Karabakh,
places international peacekeeping forces on its territory and then
Armenia starts gradual withdrawal of forces from the occupied lands
around the former Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region.

It was Azerbaijan’s mistake from the very beginning to consider
itself as a side, which has all chances for success. Indeed, high
economic growth rates at the cost of oil and temporary growth of its
geopolitical significance turned country’s head. It seemed to us that
we live in a static world where the international law is always for
the territorial integrity and that in 10-15 years we will be able
to get rid of the commitments, regarding referendum on the status of
Nagorno Karabakh.

Yet the recent events in Kosovo show that it will not be easy to
get rid of the commitments which are undertaken so carelessly. This
is primarily connected with the issue of peacekeeping forces, which
deprived Serbia of the last physical and political opportunity to
prevent the declaration of independence by Kosovo.

As is seen, the peacekeeping forces have been deployed in Kosovo by
the countries, which recognize territorial integrity of Serbia, with
the formal agreement of Belgrade. Even Azerbaijan has been keeping its
contingent there. But the peacekeeping forces turned into an obstacle,
which Serbia was not able to remove, when Albanians declared their
independence.

And now let’s imagine what would happen one day if Serj Sarkisyan or
Levon Ter-Petrosyan adopts a plan, which is now being sold to us by
the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairman and which has already been bought
by Azerbaijan as to the deployment of peacekeeping forces.

The further scenario is quite gloomy. Peacekeeping forces are deployed
in the conflict area with Baku’s agreement. Yerevan gradually
withdraws its forces from five occupied regions and perhaps even
from seven. It has deliberately been stimulating and supporting
ethnic tensity in Nagorno Karabakh for the whole 10-15 years. Then
Armenians hold referendum on independence. If the Kosovo independence
does not turn into a disaster for Europe by that time, Europe will
make Azerbaijan recognize the results of such a referendum even if
it is not envisioned by agreements and Azerbaijan will be in the same
position as democratic Serbia is now.

What is a solution? If official Baku is not able to stop this
deceptive Prague process, it can at least change its position on
the peacekeeping forces. If we have not been in need of peacekeepers
to maintain ceasefire regime for the last 14 years, why do we need
peacekeepers in period of execution of a peace agreement?