Does Armenia Give Up Minsk Group?
During the meeting with the Azerbaijani foreign minister and the OSCE
Minsk Group co-chairs Armenia's foreign minister, according to the
press release of the foreign ministry, drew the attention of the
co-chairs to Azerbaijan's military provocations, which he described as
neglect towards the co-chairs, as well a factor impeding the
settlement.
The official release does not specify whether Nalbandyan said that to
the co-chairs in the presence of Mammedyarov or during his separate
meeting with the co-chairs. There are no details about the answer of
the co-chairs.
Everyone is aware of their public evaluations. These evaluations are
mostly general. Of course, very often the messages between the lines
or the underwater part of the iceberg, and the addressee of the
statement either understands who the general statement is addressed to
or if it does not understand, they make it clear through other ways.
However, one cannot notice that they are trying to convey something to
Azerbaijan, it does not understand and they are trying to explain it
in another way.
Moreover, the impression is that Yerevan is sitting in front of the
mirror and complaining to its own reflection. There is no need to be
surprised. Yerevan, for example, dared complain to CSTO of actions of
its members that are not in line with its interests. However, Yerevan
was ignored, and Russia continues its trade with Baku, and CSTO
Secretary General Borduzha announces that all CSTO members have
dissatisfactions with one another.
If Yerevan's grievances are ignored in the alliance which is
considered the guarantor of its security, how about elsewhere? By the
way, Azerbaijan has been keeping the border villages of Armenia, which
is the territory of CSTO, under constant firing whereas CSTO has not
uttered a single word on this. In addition, Armenia has not brought up
this issue in CSTO either.
It would not be a surprise if the American and French co-chairs of the
OSCE Minsk Group, plus NATO and the EU announce that we should first
complain to and demand action by the alliance which has declared
itself the guarantor of our security.
And while Yerevan conducts an in-front-of-the-mirror foreign policy,
Azerbaijan continues its own policy a component of which is commando
attacks.
The Armenian side describes those attacks as attempts to thwart the
settlement. If the Armenian diplomats really think so, they must be
diplomatically insane or infantile.
The point is that Azerbaijan with its military provocations does not
thwart the negotiations and the settlement but it is its style of
negotiation and settlement. It is using these methods to gain
advantage in the talks, create a basis for new claims, create a
situation in which it will trade off commandoes in return for
something else. Baku this tries to change the state of things and the
balance of forces in the process called settlement.
Yerevan does not oppose. Moreover, in response to all this Yerevan
appears before the international community as an utterly irresponsible
subject which cannot be a reliable partner because it does not have
its own policy and its policy is an annex to Moscow's foreign policy.
On September 3 Yerevan proved this.
In other words, Armenia stops being a party to the negotiations as a
sovereign state. It actually creates an emergency situation in this
process. And the process is part of a bigger thing than just the
settlement of the issue of Artsakh. Moreover, the settlement of the
issue itself was a rod supporting the format of the Minsk Group while
the group dealt with a broader scope of economic and political issues,
acting as a unique bilateral platform for Russia, France and the
United States.
However, if Armenia waives its right to foreign policy, proportions
will change considerably, and the axis of the Minsk Group will be
endangered. It is not accidental that Turkey and Azerbaijan did not
try to set the issue of Artsakh against the membership of Armenia
against the Customs Union. They did not need to hinder Armenia's
membership to continue to dissolve the axis of the Minsk Group. After
all, Turkey and Azerbaijan have been doing everything to change the
format of the Minsk Group. What Turkey and Azerbaijan failed to do so
far are now doing together with the governments of Armenia and Russia
under a funny wording on enhancing Armenia's security. One can judge
how security of Armenia has been enhanced by Azerbaijan's continuous
brazen behavior and calmness.
Hakob Badalyan,Political Commentator
19:28 25/01/2014
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/comments/view/31800
During the meeting with the Azerbaijani foreign minister and the OSCE
Minsk Group co-chairs Armenia's foreign minister, according to the
press release of the foreign ministry, drew the attention of the
co-chairs to Azerbaijan's military provocations, which he described as
neglect towards the co-chairs, as well a factor impeding the
settlement.
The official release does not specify whether Nalbandyan said that to
the co-chairs in the presence of Mammedyarov or during his separate
meeting with the co-chairs. There are no details about the answer of
the co-chairs.
Everyone is aware of their public evaluations. These evaluations are
mostly general. Of course, very often the messages between the lines
or the underwater part of the iceberg, and the addressee of the
statement either understands who the general statement is addressed to
or if it does not understand, they make it clear through other ways.
However, one cannot notice that they are trying to convey something to
Azerbaijan, it does not understand and they are trying to explain it
in another way.
Moreover, the impression is that Yerevan is sitting in front of the
mirror and complaining to its own reflection. There is no need to be
surprised. Yerevan, for example, dared complain to CSTO of actions of
its members that are not in line with its interests. However, Yerevan
was ignored, and Russia continues its trade with Baku, and CSTO
Secretary General Borduzha announces that all CSTO members have
dissatisfactions with one another.
If Yerevan's grievances are ignored in the alliance which is
considered the guarantor of its security, how about elsewhere? By the
way, Azerbaijan has been keeping the border villages of Armenia, which
is the territory of CSTO, under constant firing whereas CSTO has not
uttered a single word on this. In addition, Armenia has not brought up
this issue in CSTO either.
It would not be a surprise if the American and French co-chairs of the
OSCE Minsk Group, plus NATO and the EU announce that we should first
complain to and demand action by the alliance which has declared
itself the guarantor of our security.
And while Yerevan conducts an in-front-of-the-mirror foreign policy,
Azerbaijan continues its own policy a component of which is commando
attacks.
The Armenian side describes those attacks as attempts to thwart the
settlement. If the Armenian diplomats really think so, they must be
diplomatically insane or infantile.
The point is that Azerbaijan with its military provocations does not
thwart the negotiations and the settlement but it is its style of
negotiation and settlement. It is using these methods to gain
advantage in the talks, create a basis for new claims, create a
situation in which it will trade off commandoes in return for
something else. Baku this tries to change the state of things and the
balance of forces in the process called settlement.
Yerevan does not oppose. Moreover, in response to all this Yerevan
appears before the international community as an utterly irresponsible
subject which cannot be a reliable partner because it does not have
its own policy and its policy is an annex to Moscow's foreign policy.
On September 3 Yerevan proved this.
In other words, Armenia stops being a party to the negotiations as a
sovereign state. It actually creates an emergency situation in this
process. And the process is part of a bigger thing than just the
settlement of the issue of Artsakh. Moreover, the settlement of the
issue itself was a rod supporting the format of the Minsk Group while
the group dealt with a broader scope of economic and political issues,
acting as a unique bilateral platform for Russia, France and the
United States.
However, if Armenia waives its right to foreign policy, proportions
will change considerably, and the axis of the Minsk Group will be
endangered. It is not accidental that Turkey and Azerbaijan did not
try to set the issue of Artsakh against the membership of Armenia
against the Customs Union. They did not need to hinder Armenia's
membership to continue to dissolve the axis of the Minsk Group. After
all, Turkey and Azerbaijan have been doing everything to change the
format of the Minsk Group. What Turkey and Azerbaijan failed to do so
far are now doing together with the governments of Armenia and Russia
under a funny wording on enhancing Armenia's security. One can judge
how security of Armenia has been enhanced by Azerbaijan's continuous
brazen behavior and calmness.
Hakob Badalyan,Political Commentator
19:28 25/01/2014
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/comments/view/31800