Armenian Human Rights Experts Urge Caution
The United States and Russia, currently are at odds over the conflict in Ukraine, separately called for intensifying diplomatic efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan in hopes of finding solutions to issues, with official Moscow hailing Yerevan’s commitment to so-called “peace talks” with Azerbaijan.
Armenia this week requested that the OSCE Minsk group co-chairs—the U.S., Russia and France—to mediate “peace talks” between Yerevan and Baku “on the basis of the UN Charter, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Helsinki Final Act.”
Earlier this week, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said that Yerevan had responded to Baku’s proposed five points to advance these talks. Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry, however, called on Armenia to respond to its request, signaling that it was not satisfied with Yerevan’s response.
In response to an RFE/RL Armenian service question regarding Washington’s position on Yerevan’s request to the OSCE Minsk Group, the U.S. Embassy in Armenia said that “the United States remains committed to promoting a peaceful, democratic, and prosperous future for the South Caucasus region.”
“As a Minsk Group Co-Chair, we urge Armenia and Azerbaijan to continue and intensify their diplomatic engagement to find comprehensive solutions to all outstanding issues. The United States is ready to assist Armenia and Azerbaijan with these efforts,” the embassy added.
During a news conference on Thursday, Russia Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova signaled Moscow’s support the “peace talks,” saying Russia is ready to provide “all possible assistance” to such a negotiation process.
“As for the likely timing of the completion of this process, the signing of a peace treaty, I think it is now premature to talk about this topic,” Zakharova added, according to the Tass news agency.
The spokesperson also said that Russia also supported the launch of a process to delimit and demarcate the Armenian and Azerbaijani borders and urged the creation of a commission “as soon as possible.”
“We are concerned about the situation in the [Karabakh] region and at certain sections of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border. We have noted regular violations of the ceasefire since early March,” Zakharova said, referring to the weeks-long shelling of Armenian villages in Artsakh’s Askeran region by Azerbaijani forces.
“The Russian peacekeeping contingent is taking appropriate measures in its area of responsibility to ensure stability and control the situation. Thanks to these efforts, no armed incidents have been recorded since March 13,” Zakharova said.
Human rights experts in Armenia have weighed in on Azerbaijan’s ongoing aggression against the residents of Artsakh, saying that Baku’s actions do not bode well—or justify—“peace talks” that are being proposed by Azerbaijan and advanced by Yerevan.
Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Kristine Grigoryan told members of cabinet on Thursday that the current aggression by Azerbaijani forces whose actions have also sparked a potential humanitarian crisis in Artsakh cannot justify peace talks.
“The fact that Azerbaijan was not allowing the repair of a damaged gas pipeline is one more proof that this is a policy managed just directly from one point. The goal is clear – ethnic cleansing and evicting Armenians from Artsakh,” she said.
“At this moment we must emphasize that the events and the escalations of at least the past two weeks, including the humanitarian hurdles, show that there is just no environment and action for talks about peace, and, to put it mildly, Azerbaijan is not being sincere,” Grigoryan said, adding that while striving for peace is critically important, actions speaker louder that words.
The chairmen of Armenia’s Helsinki Committee, on the other hand, warned that the five points proposed by Baku as basis for peace negotiations with Armenia can be deemed as “preconditions for capitulation under the guise of diplomacy.”
Avetik Ishkhanyan, the chair of the Helsinki committee, also added that by agreeing to engaged in the so-called “peace talks” with Baku, official Yerevan could be making further concessions. He cited one of the five points—recognition of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity—would advance Baku’s policy of ridding Artsakh of its Armenian population.
He also warned that Azerbaijan will continue to push for the opening of the so-called “Zangezur Corridor,” a scheme being advanced by Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, by which a land corridor through Armenia would connect Azerbaijan proper with Nakhichevan.
Ishkhanyan also criticized the Armenia authorities silence on Azerbaijan’s ongoing aggression against Armenia and Artsakh.
