TODAY.AZ / Politics

Armenia not ready for peace

29 July 2015 [09:50] - TODAY.AZ

/By AzerNews/

By Sara Rajabova

While negotiations are underway to settle the long-standing Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Armenian side continues provocations on the contact line, ignoring all calls to solve the problem peacefully.

Just days after the departure of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, whose aim is to mediate to settle the conflict peacefully, the Armenian military attempted sabotage on the frontline.

This comes after the co-chairs voiced concerns about the recent rise in tensions and called on all sides to avoid a deadly escalation of violence and take all measures to adhere strictly to the ceasefire.

However as always, Armenia in defiance of the calls to refrain from aggravating the situation on the contact line, broke all hopes for a peaceful resolution of the lingering conflict, which still continues to claim the lives of people on both sides.

The Azerbaijani Armed Forces prevented an attempted Armenian incursion along the line of contact and border areas, the Azerbaijani defense ministry reported.

The Armenian armed forces attempted the incursion during the day and into the night on July 24 by firing shells at Azerbaijani positions in the direction of the Goranboy, Aghdam, Terter, and Fuzuli regions, as well as across the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border into the Gadabay region, the statement said.

The opposing side was silenced by return fire. At least five Armenian servicemen were killed.

While preventing the enemy's attempted sabotage, Azerbaijani soldier Eldar Fataliyev was killed.

The ministry also said the situation on the frontline is in full control by the Azerbaijani armed forces.

The Armenian armed forces have increased tensions along the contact line of troops, firing frequently at Azerbaijani positions and settlements. During the last months, Armenian troops broke the ceasefire an average of 80 times a day using large-caliber machine guns and mortars.

Such aggressive actions by Armenia are not new as the country has kept 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territory under occupation over the past two decades, creating a base for a new bloody war in the South Caucasus region.

Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since 1994, but long-standing efforts by U.S., Russian, and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

As a result of Armenia going unpunished for its crimes, it still continues the occupation in defiance of U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on its pullout from the neighboring country's territories.

There are various reasons for Armenia’s recent aggression. One is that the country is satisfied with the status quo and therefore, does its best to prevent any change in the negotiations.

Every time, when favorable conditions and hopes emerge for progress in the peace talks, the Armenian side resorts to provocations on the contact line, endangering the peace process on the resolution of the long-standing Nagorno-Karabakh problem.

Another reason for Armenia’s aggressive policy is related to the internal problems of this impoverished country. Unable to solve its domestic social and economical issues, the Armenian leadership attempts to divert the attention of people, which are dissatisfied with the incompetent government and fed up with its ‘pretty lies’, from developments taking place inside the country.

The difficult economic and political situation in Armenia is the result of a complete failure of the leadership of this country.

The military dictatorship of Serzh Sargsyan's regime attempts to calm the discontent population by keeping them under the fear of war.

Azerbaijani MP Musa Gasimli said provocation and violation of the ceasefire regime by Armenia can be explained by the fact that the government wants to divert attention from the internal crisis, as well as to frighten the population with an "external enemy."

He told Trend that the Armenian government, failing to create normal conditions for the population, frightens people by starting new military operations.

However, Armenia’s aggressive policy mainly hurts itself, as Yerevan has been sidelined from big projects with regional countries. This has exacerbated the current situation of the country and led to an economic crisis that the government is unable to tackle.

In the meantime, this occupant country blames Azerbaijan for the delay in the settlement of the conflict. Putting its own guilt on Azerbaijan, the country’s military dictatorship attempts to discredit Azerbaijan and presents itself as a victim of the conflict, while being the side that started the conflict.

Despite Armenia’s provocations, Azerbaijan has always demonstrated its position and readiness for the peaceful resolution of the problem. Unfortunately, resolution efforts haven’t yielded results yet.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/politics/142468.html

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