WPS Agency, Russia
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
March 26, 2010 Friday

SARGSIAN CALLED THE FIRE TO HIMSELF;
Yerevan and Baku exchanged mutual accusations

By Yury Roks
[translated from Russian]

PROSPECTS OF SOLVING OF THE NAGORNO-KARABAKH PROBLEM ARE QUESTIONED
AGAIN; In the last three days, Yerevan and Baku exchanged critique and
once again questioned assurances of the intermediaries that the
Nagorno-Karabakh problem would be solved soon. The opposite statements
and the harsh tone demonstrated that the parties did not move their
positions closer to each other even by an inch.

In the last three days, Yerevan and Baku exchanged critique and once
again questioned assurances of the intermediaries that the
Nagorno-Karabakh problem would be solved soon. The opposite statements
and the harsh tone demonstrated that the parties did not move their
positions closer to each other even by an inch.

The dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan started from an interview
of President of Armenia Serzh Sargsian to Euronews channel in which he
proposed Baku to sign an agreement on non-use of force, which "will
serve for establishment of confident relations among Azerbaijan,
Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh."

It is not quite clear what has irritated the Azerbaijani party because
the proposal of the Armenian leader corresponds to the renovated
Madrid principles of Nagorno-Karabakh regulation that exclude the use
of force completely and is positively evaluated by Baku. Official
spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan Elhan Poluhov has
announced that Baku is ready to sign an agreement on non-use of force
but "only after de-occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan"
without which the statements of peace have a populist nature and it is
not worth viewing them seriously. Poluhov emphasized, "After
withdrawal of Armenian occupation forces from our territories we will
be ready to sign such agreements."

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev announced, "The main part of
negotiations is completed. I can say that the proposals made with a
small exception fully correspond to the national interests of
Azerbaijan." According to Aliyev, "The proposals made in the course of
the negotiation process provide for territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan and return of occupied territories to under control of
Baku." Aliyev added, "If the other party manifests constructivism and
agrees with the proposed option, we will be able to achieve progress
in resolving of the conflict quicker." Aliyev emphasized that
Nagorno-Karabakh would never been an independent state.

Yerevan responded with an equally picturesque statement saying that
the sky would fall on the earth faster than Nagorno-Karabakh would
return to Azerbaijan and reminding about the consequences of the
unwillingness of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili to sign a
peace agreement with Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan disavowed the
words of the President of Azerbaijan that Baku would restore its
jurisdiction over Nagorno-Karabakh Republic soon. Kocharyan announced,
"Having ensured unchanging nature of his inherited power on the
constitutional level, Ilham Aliyev decided that he could speak on
behalf of time, international law, intermediaries, Armenia and people
of Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku makes believe that it does not see that
independence of Nagorno-Karabakh does not have alternatives.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a state established fully in accordance with the
international law norms that has managed to counteract to the policy
of ethnic purges and aggression of Azerbaijan."

Meanwhile, the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, to be more accurate, on
the contact line, grew much worse in the last week. According to the
Defense Ministry of Nagorno-Karabakh, between March 14 and 20
Azerbaijani forces breached the ceasefire regime 8 times. The press
service of the Defense Ministry of Nagorno-Karabakh reported,
"Thirteen bullets were fired towards the Nagorno-Karabakh positions
located in the southeastern part of the contact line between 17 and 19
p.m. of March 15 alone. Tens of similar facts were registered in other
parts of the frontline." The press service added, "The air defense
units of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic also registered training flights of
the air force of the enemy above the territory close to the border but
there was no trespassing of the air border of Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic."

David Babayan, director of the main information department of the
staff of the President of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, confirmed, "The
situation really got worse. In any case, we have got used to a
situation when Azerbaijanis start provocations by holidays. Now this
is Navruz Bairam. In any case, situation is under control of the army
of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and there is nothing extraordinary."
According to Babayan, the proposal of Serzh Sargsian to sign an
agreement on non-use of forces was sounded not for the first time but
the Azerbaijani party rejected it every time. Babayan added,
"Authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic proposed such initiative
too. The idea was approved by the intermediaries of the Minsk OSCE
group, curators of the negotiations, but there was no progress."

Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, March 23, 2010, p. 6

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress