Aygun Ismayilova, Trend News Commentator
Russia’s President Dmitriy Medvedev has stated about his intention to arrange peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan regarding the occupation of 20% of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia – Russia’s closest military ally.
“The two neighboring countries are ready to search for the solution ways”, Medvedev stated.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, two former Soviet countries – Azerbaijan and Armenia – have been in the state of war, because Nagorno-Karabakh and its seven surrounding regions were occupied by the Armenian Armed Forces. The ceasefire agreement was signed between the parties in 1994 and peace talks are held up to date with the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, Russia, France and the USA.
The major objective of Azerbaijan, a flourishing country due to its oil boom, is to settle the territorial dispute.
Both the Government and Azerbaijani population are very sensitive about solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict which left thousands people dead and resulted in more than 1 mln refugees and IDPs.
Azerbaijanis are confident that the conflict solution is delayed only because Russia is not interested in the solution yet. Certainly, Medvedev’s statement on Russia’s will to mediate in settlement of the territorial dispute between the two countries has aroused an issue of Russia’s sincerity led by the new president. Azerbaijan still remembers the period of Yeltsin’s rule. Russia supplied armaments worth of US $1bln to Armenia waging war against Azerbaijan. The relations between Azerbaijan and Russia took a normal course after Vladimir Putin came to power.
As a result of Russia’s military interference in Georgia’s military dispute, Azerbaijanis now reconsider their position on military settlement of the conflict in spite of increasing military budget of their country.
Speaking about the war with Georgia, Medvedev emphasized that the regional disputes must be settled within international negotiations.
But the US diplomats say Azerbaijan’s conflict must be settled immediately hinting at the situation with Georgia which is striving for NATO.
Official Ankara has put forward its own initiative to provide security in the region and improve its power which obviously aroused Azerbaijan’s discontent due to the rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia before the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. If Turkey, which closed its borders with Armenia, changes its position toward this country, it will very likely cause discontent of Azerbaijan which is linked to Turkey via large energy projects, also important for Europe.
Russia has expressed the wish to purchase Azerbaijani gas. However, the Azerbaijan authorities did not except that an agreement may be signed which can turn Russia into a monopolist of the Caspian gas supply to Europe.
Official Baku does not hide its interest in the Western projects, including realization of “Nabucco” pipeline project.
Trend
