Minsk Group Co-Chairs Coming to ‘Smash Wall of Hostility.’ Sarkzoy to Mediate?

The next meeting of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan might be mediated by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, according to Azerbaijani sources, who stated Wednesday that the suggestion was made by the French state leader during his recent visit to the region and discussed and approved by the US and Russian presidents, reports Nezavisimaya Gazeta, noting, however, that Armenia’s foreign ministry categorically refuted the report: “Some strange things have been coming from Azerbaijan in recent years.”

Among those “strange things” is a report by the Azerbaijani news agency ANS Press that a wall will be built along the Line of Contact with Nagorno-Karabakh armed forces. The stone structure will stretch nearly 3 kilometers, ANS Press reported, “to protect the inhabitants of Azerbaijani villages from Armenian bullets.”

Not the wall of stone but the wall of hostility between Armenians and Azeris is what the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs once again will be trying to break down by the end of October, writes Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

Second secretary of the security division of Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry Elçin Hüseynli declared Tuesday that the OSCE Minsk Group are creating opportunities to artificially delay the Karabakh conflict.

Huseynli lamented the close military and political ties between Armenia and Russia, which “are the cause of instability in the region,” and accused Yerevan of not fulfilling its international obligations: both the armed forces and the staff of Armenia’s Internal Affairs allegedly exceed the permissible limits set forth in international treaties, which indicates that Armenia is preparing for war, while “Azerbaijan is directing its acquired weapons toward protecting its energy infrastructure.”

Mikhail Alexandrov, deputy head of Caucasus Department of CIS Institute , described Hüseynli’s statement as illogical. “It’s odd to hear Azerbaijan accusing Armenia of an arms race. It’s Baku that provokes this and parades its military budget. It’s Baku that insists that a military solution to the conflict is not ruled out. Azerbaijan, in general,  should review its position. In this country, people don’t live so well for it to go spending such money on arms,” believes the analyst.

“Conflict settlement is possibly only if both sides make compromises, but Azerbaijan doesn’t want to concede anything and blames the OSCE. It wants everything to go back to how it was before the collapse of the Soviet Union, which is impossible. Baku should recognize Nagrono-Karabakh’s independence in exchange for the seven regions surrounding it: this option is still possible; otherwise, in 10 years it might also become unrealizable,” believes Alexandrov.