"This is far from ethnic cleansing": Experts from Baku on the counter-terrorist operation
Baku experts on the counter-terrorist operation
According to the Azerbaijani army, it has conducted a successful counter-terrorist operation in Karabakh. It ended after 24 hours with the capitulation of the army and the authorities of the unrecognized NKR. Today at a meeting in Yevlakh between representatives of official Baku and the Karabakh Armenian community, the issue of reintegration of Karabakh Armenians into Azerbaijani society is being resolved.
“Azerbaijan has presented Karabakh Armenians with two choices: either they recognize the laws of the country in which they live and continue to live in their homes, or they leave the territory of the country under whose laws they do not wish to live. This is far from ethnic cleansing,” an article by the Azerbaijani think tank Atlas maintains.
- War in Karabakh: Azerbaijan declared anti-terrorist operation, September 20
- “NK Armenians’ right to live in their homes must be ensured by Russia” – Pashinyan
- Azerbaijan reports launch of counter-terrorist operation in Karabakh
“Russia did not interfere with Azerbaijan”
“Azerbaijan has successfully conducted a counter-terrorist operation in Karabakh. Russia did not prevent Azerbaijan from doing so. If it had, then in the period when it lost its partners because of the war in Ukraine, Russia could have gotten tense relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey. And this is not in the interests of Russia, Turkey or Azerbaijan.
There are two opinions in Russia about the Karabakh operation. The first opinion is that Russia did not interfere with Azerbaijan because of the uneasy relations with the authorities in Armenia. Rallies are being held in Yerevan. Radicals wish to overthrow the Pashinyan government. This is in the interests of the Russian Federation.
Another opinion is that Azerbaijan should be prevented from taking possession of the entire territory of Karabakh. Despite this, Russia has not prevented the counter-terrorist operation from being carried out to a victorious end.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said nothing against Azerbaijan’s military operation. The Russian military command also said that there is no danger for Russian servicemen in Karabakh. This means only one thing: Russia has decided not to interfere with Azerbaijan’s counter-terrorist operation.”
On the objectives of the counter-terrorist operation
“Azerbaijan’s goals were obvious:
- Armenian separatists were to surrender their weapons;
- The separatists were to dissolve their “parliament” and “government”;
- Azerbaijani laws were to be in force in Karabakh.
The operation would have continued until these conditions were met. Once and for all.
The situation in the world and in our region favored such an operation on the part of Azerbaijan.”
Turkey supported Azerbaijan
“Turkey, as in the days of the second Karabakh war, continued to support Azerbaijan. This is the main factor that restrains Russia and Iran from any provocative measures against Azerbaijan. Moscow and Tehran are forced to take note of the “Shusha Declaration” and the military alliance between Baku and Ankara.
Meanwhile, speaking from the rostrum of the UN General Assembly, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan supported Azerbaijan’s counter-terrorist operation in Karabakh. He stressed that no state or international organization can prevent Azerbaijan from restoring its sovereign rights.
By the way, Erdogan is expected to visit Azerbaijan soon.”
On the UN Security Council meeting on Karabakh
“France has called an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Karabakh. [the meeting will start at 23:00 Baku time – JAMnews] How will the other permanent members of the Security Council react to this?
Russia is on unfriendly terms with France because of the war in Ukraine. This alone is enough that Moscow did not support Paris’ initiatives. China maintains partnership relations with both Baku and Yerevan. Beijing will not wish to participate in the adoption of any document against Azerbaijan. London has close ties in Baku, Britain has considerable economic interests in Azerbaijan. For this reason, the maximum that Britain can do is to call for the non-use of force. And the counter-terrorist operation has already been completed.
The White House and the State Department did not adopt any resolutions against Azerbaijan during the second Karabakh war and tried to strike a balance. Subsequently, this led to a rapprochement in relations between Azerbaijan and the United States. Washington needs cooperation with Baku because of the issues of energy supply in Europe and security, the factor of neighborhood with Iran is also taken into account.
But the recent anti-Azerbaijani statements of the State Department representative in Congress caused mixed reactions in Baku. But does this mean that the US will support the UN Security Council resolution against Azerbaijan? Washington knows in advance that the resolution prepared by Paris will not be adopted. And nothing with the support of this document will not change in the end, on the contrary, it may cause tension in relations with Azerbaijan. This is also contrary to the interests of the States in our region”.
“This is far from ethnic cleansing.”
“There are pro-Armenian centers that try to present the counter-terrorist operation as “ethnic cleansing.” In the new history, the closest ethnic cleansing in terms of date was carried out in 1995 by Croatia. The Croats cleansed the region of some 250,000 locals and the West did not prevent it. Because of two reasons. First, after the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Croatia, unlike Serbia, wished to cooperate with Western countries. Secondly, Croatia predicted the beginning of separatism in this part of its country, similar to the behavior of Serbs in Bosnia, and tried to prevent it. The operation of the Croatian army was accompanied in the Western media by headlines such as “Territories cleared of Serb separatists”. The Croatian authorities could be understood – the neighboring Serbs, like Armenia, tried to arm their compatriots and push them towards separatist protests. Why is Croatia allowed, while Azerbaijan is not?
Azerbaijan presented the Karabakh Armenians with two choices: either they recognize the laws of the country in which they live and continue to live in their homes, or they leave the territory of the country under whose laws they do not wish to live. This is a far cry from ethnic cleansing.
Once there are no separatists left in Karabakh, there will be no obstacles to peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Armenia has not interfered in the military operation in Karabakh. It realizes that if Armenia interferes, it could turn into a big war, during which Azerbaijan could enter Western Zangezur.”
