HULIQ (press release), NC
May 5 2008

Azerbaijan Asks The West To Help With Karabakh Settlement

The foreign minister of Azerbaijan has asked the West to convince
Armenia with Nagorno Karabakh settlement while Azerbaijan is the side
that constantly refuses the proposals of OSCE and and tries to get rid
of the Minsk group mediators while attempting to bring the issue to
UN.

On May 4 Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mamedyarov once again
explained the stall in the peace process on Karabakh with the
aggressive stance of Armenia. According to the Public Television of
Turkey, he accused Armenia for prolonging the settlement of the
conflict. He said that Armenia should be interested in settling the
Karabakh conflict as soon as possible and called upon the Western
states to convince Armenia to be more constructive.

The inconsistence of the Azerbaijani foreign policy is well known. Now
and then official Baku demands the Minsk Group to be disbanded and
threatens to restart the war in Karabakh. Although this time
Mamedyarov avoided warlike statements, his anxiety about Armenia’s
interests sounded rather challenging.

However challenging Mamedyarov’s statements be, the Western statements
are not likely to swallow the bait. In case Azerbaijan fulfills its
warlike threats and unleashes a new war against Armenia and Karabakh,
the West shall consider it not only as an attempt to ruin the fragile
stability of the region, but also as an attempt to take over the
initiative in Karabakh process.

It is obvious that in case of a new war in South Caucasus the
prospects of the greater states of the world shall be ruined, and
Azerbaijan shall be punished for that. If the West leaves unattended
the warlike statements of Azerbaijani officials, it means they prefer
to neglect them and not to emphasize them, preserving the stability in
South Caucasus, where each of the greater states pursues vital
interests.

By the way, the foreign minister of Azerbaijan Mamedyarov with his
accusations against Armenia tried to answer the April 30statement of
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, which read as follows, "I think we
made a long way in the settlement process of the Karabakh
conflict. There is a project and there are the proposals suggested by
the OSCE Minsk Group. They are the result of a long work and we are
ready to continue the process basing upon the suggestions. But our
readiness is not enough, we still need the willingness of the
Azerbaijani side".

By h. Chaqrian of Azg, translated by A.M.