"3% of Azerbaijan is occupied by Russia" – commentary from Baku

JAMnews

Baku

Azerbaijan’s official position on the issue of the presence of Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh is not yet clear, however, the overwhelming majority of political scientists and experts consider it an illegal act on the Russian side.

Opposition Republican Alternative party leader Natiq Jafarli wrote on his Facebook page last night the op-ed below:

“As per the trilateral agreement of November 10, 2020, signed by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, Russian peacekeeping forces will be stationed on the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh that is not controlled by the Azerbaijani armed forces.

This act has not yet been turned into a legislation. The Parliament of Azerbaijan has not yet ratified the entry of foreign peacekeeping forces into the country. Moreover, the issue has not even been raised at the Milli Majlis (National Assembly of Azerbaijan) yet.

Last night, deputy foreign minister of Russia Sergei Ryabkov spoke to a Russian TV channel, saying he does not understand why neighboring countries and the entire world call Russia an “aggressor”, and why everyone so wary of the Kremlin.

He added that such an opinion is both groundless and biased.

I will not discuss the affairs of the distant past in great detail. It will be enough to have a quick look at what Russia has been doing since the USSR collapsed 30 years ago to realize that the Kremlin is, indeed, an aggressor.

1. All ethnic and separatist movements in the post-Soviet space have been caused by Russian interventions

2. It is Moscow that supported and recognized the “independence” of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. To this day, the ruble is the main currency there, residents of South Ossetia and Abkhazia travel abroad with Russian passports, and the budgets of both republics consists of money allocated by Moscow

3. Russia has occupied and annexed the territory of Crimea, and illegal formations were created in Donbass and Luhansk

4. Pridnestrovie, located on the territory of Moldova is a puppet “republic” created by Russia. To this day, it is managed by the Kremlin which also provides it with financial assistance and weapons

5. The Kremlin’s ‘clowns’ call for the seizure of neighboring countries on central TV channels in Russia every day

6. The entire layout of domestic affairs of the Central Asian countries is designed by Moscow

7. During the past 15 years, the Kremlin has been trying to influence policies of the countries in the Baltic and Europe, by means of so-called ‘soft power’

8. Russia is the main moderator of Armenia’s domestic and foreign affairs

9. The Kremlin is building up its military superiority in neighboring states. For example, in Belarus, Russian military bases are located near the border with Poland, however, Russia is outraged whenever NATO acts in the same way

10. Finally, Russia has occupied 3% of the territory of Azerbaijan under the guise of a “peacekeeping” mission.

Russia is a large country, its territory and resources would be sufficiently large to support 2 billion people in comfort.

It is the absurd government system and sick ambitions thereof, that is holding Russia back today. Faced with a serious ideological crisis, Russia is trying to prove to the whole world that there are is no such thing as universal humanitarian values – only the “Russian world” and its own unique ways. The Kremlin still does not understand that a new generation of Russians cannot be ruled by the “Suslov’s agitation”, “Stalin’s fear machine”, or “Brezhnev’s insanity.”

In fact, Russia has every potential to become a center of balance in the world, a force defending global justice.

However, to achieve that, Russia will have to establish a just system within the country first, though it is unlikely that this will ever happen: greed and temptation to earn more are the main driving forces behind the Russian ‘political elite’. If Russia truly became that great power and balancing force that I am talking about, it would be able to prevent dangerous tendencies emerging in the West and create a new dynamic in the world.

Russia is doomed to change, and by that, I do not mean the immediate establishment of democracy there. So far, we are talking about the growing sense of injustice among ordinary citizens and this feeling will soon make the transformation inevitable.

We do not need the destruction of Russia, we need its positive transformation. In my opinion, this is exactly what’s going to happen, and all neighbors, including Azerbaijan, must prepare for this”, Natik Jafarli wrote on his Facebook page.