Peacekeepers in Karabakh take side - COMMENTARY

In no part of the world have peacekeepers helped resolve conflicts since the bearers of this mission also represent the interests of their countries. Peacekeepers mainly support the interests of one of the parties. It is this bias that paves the way for a new conflict. In addition, the existence of another peacekeeping mission in the territory of a country also means the military presence of that state. History has repeatedly shown that they have damaged the state where they place. The events in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mali, the Central African Republic, Chad, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Kashmir, and elsewhere are proof of this.

Thirty years ago, on the night of February 25-26, 1992, Russia's 366th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment opposed its mission by committing the Khojaly genocide together with Armenian terrorists and separatists. The 366th Regiment was relocated from Shamkir to Khankendi in 1985. The regiment's military camp was located in the upper part of the city, near the road connecting it with Shusha. The Azerbaijani side believes that this relocation took place on the basis of secret talks between high-ranking Armenians and the leadership of the Transcaucasian Military District. In other words, this relocation can be considered as preparation of Russian generals and Armenians for the occupation of Azerbaijani lands. As a result of the Khojaly genocide committed with the participation of the 366th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment, 613 people were brutally killed, including 63 children, 106 women, and 70 elders. As a result of military aggression, eight families were utterly destroyed. 1,275 people were taken hostage, and the fate of 150 of them is still unknown. Khojaly, which had been under siege for months, was destroyed in the attack.

According to a statement signed between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on November 10, 2020, Russian peacekeepers have been deployed in Azerbaijan. Their activities are defined in Articles 3 and 4 of the document:

"3. The peacemaking forces of the Russian Federation, namely, 1,960 troops armed with firearms, 90 armoured vehicles and 380 motor vehicles and units of special equipment, shall be deployed along the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin Corridor.

4. The peacemaking forces of the Russian Federation shall be deployed concurrently with the withdrawal of the Armenian troops. The peacemaking forces of the Russian Federation will be deployed for five years, a term to be automatically extended for subsequent five-year terms unless either Party notifies about its intention to terminate this clause six months before the expiration of the current term.

According to Article 6: "... As agreed by the Parties, within the next three years, a plan will be outlined for the construction of a new route via the Lachin Corridor, to provide a connection between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, and the Russian peacemaking forces shall be subsequently relocated to protect the route. The Republic of Azerbaijan shall guarantee the security of persons, vehicles and cargo moving along the Lachin Corridor in both directions."

As can be seen from these articles, despite the deployment of Russian peacekeepers, the Armenian Armed Forces still remain in the territory of Azerbaijan. In addition, there are no conditions for the Azerbaijani side to control traffic safety in both directions along the Lachin corridor. On November 13, 2020, Armenian citizen Norayr Mirzoyan and others threw an RGD-5 hand grenade at a post of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces near the village of Dashalti in Shusha. He was detained by Russian peacekeepers but later released. This terrorist was hailed as a hero in his country. Due to the bias of peacekeepers, no criminal case has been launched against Mirzoyan.

French presidential candidate Valérie Pécresse crossed the Lachin corridor under peacekeepers' control and entered Azerbaijan illegally. The Russian military checked neither terrorist nor Pecresse. This shows that the Russian military is not acting per its mission. It turns out that due to the irresponsibility or negligence of peacekeepers, Armenians can carry any prohibited military equipment and other items, even drugs, through the corridor.

In an interview with local television channels on January 12, President Ilham Aliyev spoke about the situation in the Lachin corridor, saying that such incidents irritated the Azerbaijani side. According to the President, Valérie Pécresse was accompanied by former French Foreign Minister, EU's chief Brexit negotiator Barnier, and an MP: "They went there secretly and returned." The head of state did not hide his dissatisfaction with peacekeepers' activities and called to prevent such incidents.

He also stressed that peacekeepers allowed entry to and exit from Karabakh from the Armenian side: "In general, I can say that we have accurate information about all the events at the entrance and exit, in Khankendi and the surrounding areas. Therefore, it is unserious to hide something from us, saying, 'We have not seen, we have not known.'" The head of state stressed that the peacekeepers do not check 91% of the vehicles entering the territory of Azerbaijan through the Lachin corridor, adding that the Azerbaijani side strictly controls the area: "We know the number of cars and people, how many people entered and how many left, and this is not acceptable. According to our information, 38,000 of the population who left during the war returned after the Second Karabakh War, and 11,000 of those who returned left permanently. It is estimated that 27,000 people now live in the area controlled by Russian peacekeepers."

The President also drew attention to the conditional border issue between Armenia and Azerbaijan in his speech. Armenia is more satisfied with the activities of Russian peacekeepers temporarily stationed in Azerbaijan. Inspired by this, the Armenian leadership and politicians are trying a third force to be deployed on the border between the two countries. Therefore, they commit various provocations and sabotage. Instead of complying with the provisions of the November 10 statement, the Armenian side is trying to increase tensions. Russia already has troops as a third country in the region. As a result of Armenia's policy of aggression, they were placed. Official Yerevan is still trying to deploy Collective Security Treaty Organization peacekeepers on the border. This is a ridiculous claim. Because the borderline between Azerbaijan and Armenia has not been defined yet. Where will that third force be located? Therefore, it would be more logical for those who support this claim of the Armenians, first of all, to pay attention to the demarcation and delimitation of borders.

The fact that the Russian military temporarily stationed in the region turned a blind eye to terrorism and allowed foreign citizens to enter the territory of Azerbaijan confirms its support to the Armenians. The events prove that the peacekeepers are a third party in the conflict zones. From this point of view, Russian peacekeepers provide their interests and conditions with their activities in Azerbaijan and their support for Armenians. This situation increases tensions in the region.

A year and two months have passed since the deployment of the peacekeepers, and they still have three years and ten months to operate...