AZERBAIJAN REMINDS ABOUT ITSELF
Vardan Barseghyan
Hayots Ashkhar
March 06, 2008
Trying To Take Advantage Of The Situation
The March 4 attack by Azerbaijani special detachment, on
NKR-Azerbaijani border zone, in village Levonarch, of Mardakert
region and the one-day battle following the attack was the biggest
after the ceasefire maintained from May 1994.
An intensive campaign has started regarding the attack of Azerbaijani
side and the counter-attack of NKR defense army.
Armenian side states Azerbaijan is trying to take advantage of the
tough situation created in our country, and official Baku says by
provoking the military clashes Armenian authorities are trying to
bring the attention of their own people on the foreign enemy, thus
swiftly discharging the internal political tension.
But a lot of facts and circumstances appeared during the one-day war
of campaigning, which gives us the clear picture of the reasons of
this clash.
The thing is, after the tragic event in Yerevan, OSCE Minsk Group
co-Chair Mathew Braise, considered by some politicians as "the
Viceroy of Caucasus", who visited Armenia as a mediator, from the
US State Department, visited Baku 2-3 hours before the clash in
Armenian-Azerbaijani border zone. Here he gave indefinite answers
to the questions regarding the continuation of Karabakh negotiations
in his interview given to certain Mass Media, linking the terms and
the possible visits of the co-Chairs to the region with the internal
political situation in Armenia.
"The situation in Armenia is so tensed," Mathew Braise said, "that it
will be very difficult to record progress. Meanwhile he tried to soften
the anxiety expressed by Azerbaijan after the recognition of Kosovo’s
independence, after which the latter withdrew its peacekeeping forces
from the ex-Serbian territory and during the UN General Assembly it
has even submitted a special resolution about the inadmissibility of
being guided by similar precedents.
Mathew Braise in his turn mentions that Kosovo cannot be a precedent
for other conflicts especially Nagorno Karabakh. This announcement
was undoubtedly linked with the open intimidation heard from I. Aliev
during Braise’s recent visit to the western regions of Azerbaijan,
saying that the recognition of Kosovo’s independence is a violation
of international law, which give reasons to Azerbaijan to think about
the military solution of the issue.
It is far not by chance that it was during I. Aliev’s this visit,
that Azerbaijani Mass Media continuously reported about the so-called
" break of the ceasefire" by Armenian side. In fact, I. Aliev’s
bellicose announcements and his recent threats were a preparation
of the big clash in Mardakert, which was planned to organize right
before the visit of OSCE Minsk Group co-Chair.
Thus Azerbaijan is trying to take advantage of the situation and
put pressure on the mediator country, so that they will consider
two new realities: first – not to consider Kosovo as a precedent for
the solution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict, otherwise they will start
military actions, second – to put pressure on official Yerevan and
"punish" because of the post-election events. Thus Azerbaijan is
trying to make them reconsider the famous proposals made by the
mediators in favor of Azerbaijan.
Consequently, immediately after March 1-2 events in Yerevan, by the
provocative actions initiated by Azerbaijani leadership in Mardakert
front, the latter is trying to test the reaction of not only Armenian
side but also OSCE Minsk Group co-Chairs. They also tried to convince
everyone that they are going to use any events following March 1-2,
in the negotiation process.