SARGSYAN'S REGIME IS WORSE THAN ISIS

The new escalation of tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia has attracted the attention of not only the countries of the region, which are directly concerned with stability in the South Caucasus, but also states located far from the conflict zone. Of particular interest is the US view on the situation, given that the United States has assumed the role of a peacekeeper in the Karabakh settlement as one of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. In this regard, US political analyst Peter Theis shares his vision of the situation with R+.

- How would you describe the current situation with the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict in the light of the recent escalation of tensions in the region?

- The occupation of part of the territory of Azerbaijan, Yerevan's violation of international law for more than 25 years, and merciless killings and cleansing of the Azeri population in Azerbaijani lands occupied by the Armenian armed forces are acts that must be immediately condemned by the OSCE Minsk Group, the UN Security Council, as well as major world powers and international organizations.

However, despite the recent predatory actions of the Armenian armed forces in the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan, the 70th session of the UN General Assembly has once again failed to point the finger at the government of Armenia as the guilty party.

Furthermore, the US president and EU member states are too busy with the objectives of sustainable development promoted by the United Nations and again turn a blind eye to protracted conflicts that cause damage to the peace and stability in Eurasia and Africa. One of the threats to these objectives is the occupation of 20 per cent of Azerbaijan's territory by the Armenian armed forces.

At the 70th UN General Assembly session, a few world leaders expressed concern about the civil war in Syria and raised awareness of the unprecedented in European history wave of refugees numbering hundreds of thousands, which was caused by the armed conflicts and upheavals in Syria, Libya, Sudan, Afghanistan and other hot spots. The international community once again remained silent and refrained from publicly condemning the acts of violence committed by Armenia in the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan over the past two and a half decades. Thus, the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict has turned Azerbaijan into a country with the highest rate of internally displaced persons per capita in the world.

This conflict continues to take lives of innocent people every day and is becoming the most dangerous conflict on the outskirts of Europe. As a result of the recent armed provocations, as well as a short-sighted position on the issue of complete and unconditional withdrawal of their armed forces from the occupied Azerbaijani lands, Armenian authorities today look even more terrible than the leaders of ISIS (the former name of the terrorist group Islamic State) in Syria and Iraq and more dangerous than the terrorist group Al-Shabaab in Somalia.

- How can you explain the failure to comply with UN Security Council resolutions over such a long period?

- There are five reasons for Armenia's failure to comply with UN Security Council resolutions 822 (adopted on 30 April 1993), 853 (29 July 1993), 874 (14 October 1993) and 884 (12 November 1993):

- The balance of geo-strategic influence has been shifted considerably, giving rise to new regional powers; challenges of global security and new threats are becoming more sophisticated and complex.

- The significance of the rule of law has diminished over the last quarter of the century, which created a lot of rogue states, such as Armenia, ignoring many Security Council resolutions.

- The priorities of US President Barack Obama, focused on strengthening security and foreign policy strategy in Southeast Asia, have overshadowed the importance of the Caspian region and the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

- Over the last six years, in a closely interconnected world, the United States has missed an opportunity to create a genuine partnership with Azerbaijan and other young democracies located at the crossroads of Europe.

- Many countries of the world, in particular the EU member states, have not joined efforts at the level of the United Nations to conduct a policy condemning the war unleashed by Armenia against Azerbaijan (as a result of which Yerevan has taken nearly one-fifth of the territory of Azerbaijan including Nagornyy Karabakh and seven surrounding districts); ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories; the expulsion of more than one million Azerbaijanis from their homes as well as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

- It is noteworthy that recently, President Sargsyan said that his country had joined the Eurasian Union without Nagornyy Karabakh, because the latter is not part of Armenia. More recently, however, he suddenly said that Nagornyy Karabakh is part of Armenia. How do you explain this contradictory behaviour?

- The failure of economic reforms, corruption in the government and Sargsyan's foreign policy that do not reflect current realities have created a number of complex and long-term problems for the authorities, along with a catastrophic vision of the future of own people and the region. The dramatic situation in the country and economic stagnation in Armenia are forcing the authorities to make contradictory statements aimed at attracting the attention of the world community.

- Still, if Armenia decides to recognize the so-called independence of Nagornyy Karabakh, can other countries follow suit and where will it lead us to?

- First of all, the Republic of Azerbaijan has an inalienable right to self-defence, which is guaranteed under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations providing for the restoration of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence within the internationally recognized borders.

The resolution approved by the House of Representatives of the US State of Rhode Island in May 2012 has opened Pandora's Box, which set in motion the process of adopting a series of resolutions in a number of US states and counties in favour of recognizing the independence of Nagornyy Karabakh and the corresponding appeal to President Obama. However, taking into account the current world order despite all its faults, it will be incredibly difficult for Armenia and the Russian Federation to legitimize and consolidate the international recognition of the "Republic of Nagornyy Karabakh". Recognizing Nagornyy Karabakh as an independent state would be a serious blunder of the international community and a catastrophic error jeopardizing peace and stability on the outskirts of Europe and the Caspian region.

It is stated in the preamble to the United Nations document "Transfor-ming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Develop-ment": "We are determined to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence. There can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development". These goals will not be achieved if the United Nations and most of its member states fail to become more active in preventing conflicts in the Caucasus region and to prioritize the issue of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and its borders recognized by all countries of the world.