Says Aliyev’s “Zangezur Corridor” Scheme Must Respect Territorial Integrity and Sovereignty of Nations
The Russian Foreign Ministry, in a statement issued on Saturday, cautioned western powers to tread carefully when it came to their involvement with Armenia and Azerbaijan, urging them to take the “changed realities in the region” into consideration when advancing their policies.
Moscow also warned about what it called an “external order” attempting to sow anti-Russian sentiments surrounding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The foreign ministry statement was issued to mark the first anniversary of the November 9 agreement, which ended military actions in Karabakh, but forced Armenia to surrender territory in Armenia and Artsakh to Azerbaijan.
At the same time, the Russian foreign ministry commented on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s plan to create the so-called “Zangezur Corridor,” which would link mainland Azerbaijan with Nakhichevan—and Turkey—through Armenia’s Syunik Province, where its forces have been camped out since May.
Moscow said efforts to unblock links in the region by creating transportation routes must be “based on respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries through which they pass.”
“Russia is not claiming a monopoly in its relations and communication with Armenia and Azerbaijan, although we have longstanding bonds and close alliances that include large-scale partnerships on all fronts with those countries and peoples,” TASS quoted the Russian foreign ministry as saying in the statement. “We stand for effective use of the international community’s current potential, which must take into account the changed regional realities.”
Russia’s foreign ministry pointed out that a year has passed since the November 9 statement was adopted, so social media and online statements claiming that “Russia’s peacekeeping efforts were allegedly aimed at ‘breaking Nagorno-Karabakh away,’ ‘handing it over’ to Azerbaijan, and turning Armenia into a ‘protectorate’ can be safely refuted.”
“These statements are populist,” said the foreign ministry. “They show [the existence of] an obvious external order and have nothing to do with reality.”
The statement emphasized that the Moscow-initiated trilateral agreements and mechanisms were not imposed on the sides, but were based on a “verified balance of interests” and included a very respectful attitude toward the sovereignty and interests of Baku and Yerevan.
“Some of our initiatives could not be agreed upon, and that is normal. On the other hand, the agreement that has already been confirmed is, as they say, hard-won and is effectively implemented in practice,” the Moscow stressed.
The foreign ministry further noted that Moscow is ready to support the start of negotiations over the Armenian-Azerbaijani border determination for future delimitation and demarcation.
The statement also noted that Moscow is determined to continue actively working with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. “The Co-Chairs plan to visit the region and continue contacts in the 3+2 format [Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, France and the U.S.].”
The statement revealed that as a result of the eight meetings of the working group comprised of the deputy prime ministers of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan that is tasked with determining ways to “unblock” transportation links between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a report was presented which “details specific railway and automobile routes for the restoration of communication between Armenia and Azerbaijan with access to transport communications of neighboring countries.”
These routes, the ministry explained, would increase the “transit appeal of the region and would attract additional investments. It was stressed that on this occasion additional prospects are emerging for Russia and Armenia over the realization of the North-South International corridor.”
“It’s no less important, especially in light of the situation created over the so-called Zangezur Corridor, which has been exaggerated by the media, that all participants of the trilateral working group have agreed that the newly created transportation routes will function based on respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries through which they pass,” said the Russian foreign ministry.
It looks like Russia does not want anyone to interfere with their dirty schemes. Make no mistake about it that the power-hungry and corrupt leaders of Armenia, by their inaction and lack of preparation, have a lot to do with the outcome of this imposed war but the so-called Armenian ally Russia has much bigger role in all of this. They knowingly and deliberately created the hostile situation by arming the enemy and by changing the balance of power to embolden the enemy to attack, this time and for the first time in thirty years under the full command of Russia’s own adversary NATO member terrorist Turkey, and by doing absolutely nothing to help their presumed Armenian ally and that because this imposed war was planned in advance with full knowledge of Russia itself in collaboration with terrorist Turkey. History repeated itself. A century ago Soviet criminal Lenin armed Turkish terrorist Ataturk to invade Armenia and then disguised as “angels” interfered and took and placed under Soviet occupation what was left of Armenia much like what Russian troops disguised as “peacekeepers” are doing in Artsakh.
How is it that Russia is now cautioning and warning the West to “thread carefully with Armenia and Azerbaijan” yet Russia never bothered to caution and warn NATO member terrorist Turkey, an important part of the Western alliance, for its military presence in the South Caucasus in the Russian backyard right under the nose of Russia itself? How is it that Russia has no problem with terrorist Turkey conducting military exercises together with enemy Azerbaijan less than fifty kilometers from the Armenian capital in the occupied Armenian province of Nakhijevan and show no concern whatsoever for terrorist Turkey to leave behind NATO weapons, among them the American-made Turkish F-16s, to be used in the 44-day imposed war but as soon as anyone who, genuinely or otherwise, tries to assist the Armenians by calling into question the Russian schemes in the region the Russian leadership all of a sudden gets all bent out of shape and starts cautioning and issuing warnings to those who call into question the Russian intentions?
More importantly, since when is criminal artificial Azerbaijan with full support from terrorist Turkey interested in “peace and prosperity” in the region not by proposing but by demanding a land passage from artificial Azerbaijan to the occupied Armenian province of Nakhijevan, separated and stolen from Armenia, where in 2005 the sadistic Azerbaijani criminals army destroyed the last remnants of the Armenian presence there by desecrating and demolishing a 1,300 year old Armenian cemetery and constructing a military training camp in its place? Who are they kidding? This is not a passage. This is part of terrorist Turkey’s century-old pan-Turkic and pan-Turanic agenda to connect Turkey to Central Asia through artificial Azerbaijan and effectively by turning artificial Azerbaijan into a Turkish province under the disguise of “two states, one nation” which itself is nothing but a euphemism for the destruction of the Armenian statehood. This is part of Turkey’s Islamo-fascist mullah and terrorist-in-chief Er-dog-an’s schemes to rule over this entire region, from terrorist Turkey to China and at the expense of Armenia and Iran, in absence of Russia now that there is no Soviet Union and Russia is at its weakest, to create the failed Turkish mythical “Land of Turan” and by tapping into Central Asian oil reserves to have full power and control over the politics of energy-hungry Europe. This should never be allowed to materialize!
Exactly how I feel.
Very well stated.
Yup, totally agree with you. If Turkey does get a hold of the south caucus, Russia will ultimately regret their move. Russia has over 40 million muslims. In the end, Russia will have no choice but to back Armenia. At this point Russia is doing everything to postpone the inevitable. In the end it will be Russia, Iran and Armenia vs Turkey, Azerbokjan, Pakistan and Israel.
Russia will give Armenia as a gift to Erdogan, if Turkey pulls out of NATO and joins CSTO.
I know what you mean by that but in reality or something like that to happen even by a very remote possibility will require a total breakdown in international law. Sovereignty and territorial integrity would have to be meaningless like it did in centuries past.. I can see a slim possibility of something like that happening in the contested conflict zone now that Russia is in control but even in that case that would mean the end of Armenian-Russian relations, as we know it, followed by a very high possibility of the expulsion of Russia from the Armenian soil altogether. I mean if you can’t trust your alleged close ally who else can you trust? But we already saw and learned that you can’t even do that anymore. Armenians will not forgive Russia for any such move even if we imagine that can happen.
It is complicated and how the Armenian leaders conduct relations with the Russians has a lot to do with that too. It is quite evident that the more serious, strategic, stern and self-respecting our leaders behave toward their nation and homeland the more respect they receive from the Russian leadership. The opposite is also true. The more subservient to Russia they behave and act the more vulnerable they look and become. Only strong and patriotic leaders know how to deal with superpowers. The weak ones are always stepped on!