On November 26 and December 8, as a result of provocation by Armenian militants in the liberated territories, 4 servicemen were killed and 3 were injured. In order to find out reas behind Armenian provocation, Eurasia Diary took comments from Zafar Najafov, who is expert on the international relations.
Initially, Najafov talked about the aim of the provocation committed by the Armenian military in Hadrut and the position of Yerevan on this matter.
According to him, military incident happened in Hadrut has several reasons;
First, it is no coincidence that the Hadrut events took place after the Victory Parade in Azerbaijan, the participation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish military in the parade, as well as Ilham Aliyev's criticism on the OSCE Minsk Group in his speech on December 12. This is a clear manifestation of jealousy over Azerbaijan's victory.
The second reason is to divert attention from the demands of dissident forces in Armenia for the resignation of Prime Minister Pashinyan. Typically, countries in crisis of power seek to neutralize domestic discontent by "finding" a foreign enemy or a external threat. On the other hand, by creating the image of protest and resistance against the results of the 44-day war in the country, Pashinyan also indirectly demonstrates that the document is not supported by the Armenian public. The president's proposal to convene an emergency session of parliament over the Hadrut incidents is aimed at creating agitation around the issue and trying to exaggerate the problem, both inside and outside the country.
Third, by ascribing this provocation to the feet of Azerbaijan, Armenia wants to make our country to distrust Russia's peacekeeping forces, and thus provoke official Moscow to oppose us.
Fourth, Pashinyan stressed the fact that Turkish troops are stationed in Hadrut along with Azerbaijani servicemen against Armenian terrorist forces. Moreover, during his visit to Moscow, the new Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazyan said that Turkish military equipment and mercenaries are still in the conflict zone, which is a trump card for Turkey's opponents (the United States and some European Union countries).
Fifth, the Armenian government is waging a large-scale and purposeful information war over Karabakh issue. They are engaged in spreading fake news on social networks about the killing of Armenian servicemen and the evacuation of Armenian territories in Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijani forces. The Armenian Foreign Ministry states that the separatist regime is a priority in the de-occupation of Azerbaijani territories. In particular, it is noteworthy that the campaign was led by officials of the separatist regime, which was de jure destroyed on November 10. In this way, they continue their negative tactics against our country in the international arena, putting forward their traditional tactics - the intolerance of Azerbaijan against the status and population of the so-called regime.
Sixth, although Hadrut entered the administrative territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, it was liberated by our army during the 44-day war and is not included in the activities of peacekeepers. At present, the Armenian government is not reconciled with this, and trying to include the territory in the area of activity of Russian peacekeepers by conducting military provocations there.
Touching upon such provocations lead to a resurgence of Armenian terror in the region, Najafov stressed that the current situation in Karabakh is post-conflict rehabilitation.
"Undoubtedly, the current military-political situation is characterized as post-conflict rehabilitation. The success of this process depends on a number of factors: disarmament, demilitarization, demarcation, repatriation of refugees, release of prisoners of war and captives, the establishment of transport or alternative communication lines, restoration of social, political and economic infrastructure. Almost all of these factors have not yet been resolved. Although the Armenian occupation has ended, the failure to resolve such issues could violate the ceasefire in the conflict zone at any time and work in favor of the geopolitical plans of the interested forces," he said.
"It is not ruled out that similar provocative sabotage events will take place in other liberated territories of Azerbaijan (Pashinyan mentioned Zangilan and Gubadli), especially in the regions located on strategic transport and communication lines," he added.
Furthermore, Najafov commented on the reduction of armed Armenians in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh as well as the responsibilities of Russian peacekeepers in this matter?
"Peacekeeping is a complex process aimed at creating favorable conditions for lasting peace and at the same time reducing the risk of renewed hostilities. The most important part of this process is demobilization operations. Such operations should serve to separate the warring parties and forcibly disarm the combatants who have previously fought in the war (and now those who are involved in illegal armed groups). In particular, the fact that Armenian armed forces are hiding in our territories and suddenly attacking our Armed Forces and civilians gives grounds to say that the threat of sabotage and terrorism is high in some of our liberated territories, especially in the forests and mountains," he stressed.
Najafov also considered that Russia wants to monopilize the settlement of conflict in Karabakh.
"By declaring the post-soviet area its "vital zone", Moscow wants to monopolize the settlement of conflicts in the region. In this case, it is doubtful that Russia will act impartially and neutrally in Nagorno-Karabakh. In short, Russia is playing its game in Nagorno-Karabakh under the guise of peacekeeping," he said.
by Gulnar Salimova
