Russian expert: Peace treaty is impossible without return of Western Azerbaijanis to their ancestral lands

Baku, March 10, AZERTAC

Until the return of eight border villages to Azerbaijan and the “reinstallation” of Western Azerbaijanis on their ancestral lands, there can be no talk of peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Alexander Artamonov, a military observer of the Zvezda TV channel and a member of the Russian-Azerbaijani Expert Council, has told AZERTAC.

“I don't believe a peace treaty between Baku and Yerevan can be signed this year. This is hindered by the general situation in the Caucasus, which, unfortunately, is led not by local actors, but by their distant partners and patrons. Such an agreement is of no interest to the British, who have resumed the Great Game in the style of David Urquhart. Not only the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, but also, for example, the unrest in Georgia fits into the layout of the big “chessboard”. Be that as it may, it is obvious that until the return of eight border villages to Azerbaijan (Zangezur - ed.) and the “reinstallation” of Western Azerbaijanis on their ancestral lands, there can be no talk of peace. Russia's mediation can hardly change anything. Perhaps the best way out for Moscow would be non-interference in the situation on the conditional Armenian-Azerbaijani border because the Azerbaijani society is already wary of any maneuvers of peacekeepers,” Alexander Artamonov said.

Answering the question why, despite the more than two years of presence in the region of the Russian peacekeeping contingent and more recently also of the EU mission, armed clashes are still occurring, the expert said that it was impossible to prevent such incidents.

“It is impossible to cope with armed clashes – one could try to scoop out the sea with a spoon with the same degree of success. The mission of the European Union is pursuing a task that is directly opposite to the officially declared one. Its goal is to prepare a new round of confrontation and squeeze the Russians out of the South Caucasus region over the ridge: from the territory of Azerbaijan and then Armenia. Next, we should expect an “explosion” in the region of South Ossetia, whose population barely exceeds 50,000 people. The true reason lies in the creation by the NATO bloc of favorable conditions for the deployment of a new theater of military operations in the region. There is a systematic siege of the “bear's lair”, as the military of the Western alliance like to call the territory under the control of Russia,” Alexander Artamonov believes.