"This is Putin's pressure on Pashinyan." Opinion from Baku on the causes of the events in Karabakh
Fourth day of protests by Azerbaijani activists
The fourth day of protests by Azerbaijani activists on the Lachin corridor saw some new demands from protesters. To their initial demands for a meeting with the commander of the Russian peacekeeping contingent and the admission of Azerbaijani specialists to monitor the Karabakh gold and copper deposits, they now demand border guards and customs officers of Azerbaijan on the road linking Khankendi (Stepanakert) with Armenia.
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Begun at 10:30 am on Monday, December 12, the protest held by self-proclaimed Azerbaijani public and environmental activists in the Lachin corridor has been going on for the fourth day. The road in both directions from the place of events is blocked by the Russian peacekeeping contingent (RCC).
There have been no significant changes in the actions of the peacekeepers, except for the fact that this morning the RCC brought loudspeakers to the scene. According to eyewitnesses, the peacekeepers turned on the song “Katyusha”, known since the Second World War. Protesting Azerbaijanis deafened the song with whistles.
New demands
Initially, the protesters made only two demands: the arrival of the commander of the RCC, Andrei Volkov, to meet with them, and the admission of Azerbaijani specialists to monitor gold and copper deposits in the territory controlled by Russian peacekeepers. So far, neither of these requirements has been fulfilled by the peacekeeping contingent.
The list of demands also included the restoration of control by all state structures of Azerbaijan, including the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Border Service and the State Customs Committee, in the RCC zone of temporary responsibility.
“Due to the fact that the provisions of the tripartite statement have not been fully implemented, separate posts of the State Border Service of Azerbaijan and the State Customs Committee should be established on the border with Armenia in the direction of Lachin,” the activists said in a statement.
“There can be no talk of an alternative to RMK”
After the start of the protest in the Lachin corridor, Armenian officials announced the need for an international peacekeeping contingent in Karabakh. Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Alen Simonyan talked about this in particular.
According to deputy of the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijani parliament) Arzu Nagiyev, it is impossible to talk about any alternative to the RMK in Karabakh:
“There is a tripartite statement dated November 10, 2020, and according to this document, Russian peacekeepers are in the region. I note that the tasks of the RCC are not to protect the Armenian population of Karabakh, but to separate the conflicting parties from each other.”
Nagiyev, in an interview with Radio Liberty, stressed that Yerevan hoped for the continuation of the EU mission on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but this hasn’t panned out:
“In addition to this, the leader of the Karabakh separatists Arayik Harutyunyan’s trip to Paris did not yield the expected results.
It’s no secret that Armenia is trying to move away from Russia. Because they hoped that the peacekeepers would take decisive steps against the Azerbaijanis. But the leadership of the RCC understands that they are on the territory of Azerbaijan.”
“This is Putin’s pressure on Pashinyan”
Azerbaijani opposition politician Azer Gasimly believes that Armenians are well aware of who actually blocked the Lachin corridor:
“Yerevan is well aware that it was not Azerbaijanis who blocked the road. It’s just that Putin is putting pressure on Pashinyan, which happened several times before.”
According to Gasimly, if in future the question arises of deploying peacekeeping forces of other countries in Karabakh, then the advantage should be given to the Scandinavian states:
“They have no interests in our region, they are really neutral. Secondly, peacekeepers should not have heavy weapons, as we see with the Russians. Thirdly, the mission should be temporary in nature, with clear deadlines. Fourthly, there should be a “road map”, according to which, during the years of the presence of the peacekeeping contingent in the region, the integration of the Armenian population of Karabakh into the society of Azerbaijan will be carried out in stages.”
Fourth day of protests by Azerbaijani activists
