Aggression, occupation and war make up Armenia's policy

/By AzerNews/

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Azerbaijan keeps on criticizing Armenia's reluctance to boost peace efforts, thus deepening the crisis which surrounds the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Baku's regular and decisive peace calls have remained unanswered by Yerevan. No matter how hard and how open Baku has been towards its unruly neighbor, Armenian officials have snubbed diplomacy in favor of political and military aggression.

Armenia's policy is focused on three things: aggression, occupation and war, and the very attitude has undermined regional peace and stability, Asim Mollazade, member of Azerbaijani parliament, told AzerNews.

"Armenia is not an independent state. It supports an aggressive policy aimed at deepening military conflict, thus destabilizing the stability of the entire South Caucasus region. The aggression reflects Armenia and its patrons' concerns over Azerbaijan's modern projects, its significant involvement in major energy, transport and mainly cultural issues that turned the country into an intercultural cooperation hub," Mollazade added.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the fruit of Armenia's baseless territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Such baseless claims prompted Armenia to invade forcibly and violently Azerbaijan in early 1990s.

Baku has lost 20 percent of its internationally recognized territory in the wake of a bloody war in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions. At present, Armenia controls those occupied lands and supports the illegal separatist regime in Nagorno-Karabakh. Calls from Baku and the international community have so far fallen onto deaf ears. Yerevan has refused to this day to abandon its illegitimate claims.

"Armenia's rulers and its Diaspora have deliberately used the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to keep the region under constant tension. Because they are well aware of Azerbaijan's strengthening worldwide position," Mollazade said.

Touching upon the periodical presidential and ministerial meetings between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Mollazade noted that Azerbaijan needs peace and stability in the region to realize its well-planned strategy.

“That's why Baku has exerted such great patience and restraint and has made a point to attend negotiation rounds over the years.

"Unfortunately, talks have failed to produce any real outcome, acting just as an imitation of negotiations," he noted.

The OSCE Minsk Group's brokering efforts in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are not based on the basic documents introduced by the OSCE and the UN, according to the MP.

"The Minsk Group doesn't generally and politically assess the policy carried out by aggressor Armenia. I think the group turns a blind eye to the rule of law and namely it conditions the group's fruitless work so far," he said.

The OSCE Minsk Group has recently announced that it plans to arrange the next meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents as part of the dialogue to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The group believes that high-level meetings in between both countries could contribute to the settlement process.

However, Mollazade believes that achieving any advancement in the conflict's settlement will not be possible.

"As long as Armenia has not changed its aggressive policy against Azerbaijan, I don't expect any serious breakthrough in the negotiations to take place," he concluded.