Matthew Bryza: End of anti-terror measures marks significant diplomatic victory for Azerbaijan

The end of anti-terror measures marks a significant diplomatic victory for Azerbaijan, now clearing the way for a peace agreement, especially given that Armenian Prime Minister Pashinian offered no support for the embattled Armenian separatists in Karabakh, international expert, board member of the Jamestown Foundation, and former US Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Matthew Bryza, told Report.

"One important lesson that I learned during my diplomatic career is when there are initial reports of weapons firing and military clashes, there are often many inaccuracies in those reports. Therefore I wanted to be careful about commenting till now. There are certain facts that are clear. Number one fact is that the Azerbaijani government and Defense Ministry released a statement describing its intentions to carry out a limited, accurate set of military strikes against illegal Armenian armed forces that are illegally on Azerbaijan’s territory. I saw a video from the Ministry of Defense that apparently shows one limited strike. Of course, Azerbaijan was, within its right, to defend its territory against the military forces of another country. The government of Azerbaijan also stated that it would ensure the safe evacuation of the civilian population from the places where the Armenian military is located.”

Matthew Bryza added that Azerbaijan will face intense criticism from the Armenian side and those who are sympathetic to Armenia because of the use of military force no matter how justified it was: “That was the case in the Second Karabakh War. After the tripartite statement was signed, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs came out and said ‘we essentially blame Azerbaijan for the war’. And now Armenia will say that Azerbaijan resorted to provocation. However, the biggest provocation is that the military units of the Armenian armed forces are still in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. According to the statement of November 10, 2020, they should be withdrawn from the territory of Azerbaijan. I believe that the world will justify Azerbaijan because the local anti-terrorist measures are carried out in accordance with the statement of the Ministry of Defense.”