BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct. 9
By Nargiz Sadikhova – Trend:
The statement of a German foreign minister reflects the attitude of the international community [on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict] for the past thirty years, Svante E. Cornell, Director of the Institute for Security and Development Policy, and one of its co-founders, told Trend.
“This statement by the German foreign minister is not surprising to me, as it reflects the attitude of the international community for the past thirty years. It can be summarized as follows: it seeks to avoid trouble rather than solve the conflict. In other words, it seeks to take away a problem, to “freeze” the situation again,” Cornell said.
Of course, Cornell said, whenever a conflict is ongoing, it is a most natural sentiment to simply want violence to end.
“But it appears to me to lack realism and reflects a certain lack of understanding of the conflict. It assumes that a ceasefire would have intrinsic value for both parties. This – whether one likes it or not – neglects the fact that for Azerbaijan an immediate ceasefire would result in a return to the situation of occupation of some of its territory. Less than before, perhaps, but still a continued occupation,” Cornell added.
Cornell noted that in other words, from the Azerbaijani perspective, calling only for an immediate ceasefire amounts to calling for the continued occupation of Azerbaijani territory.
“And thus, if there is no strong military rationale to agree to a ceasefire, the notion of a ceasefire is not sufficiently attractive for Azerbaijan to accept - unless it also includes a serious commitment by the international community to find a serious, negotiated solution to the conflict that leads to the end of the occupation of these territories," he said.
"Such a commitment should have existed a long time ago, and would have prevented the war we are seeing presently. At the very least this fighting should lead to the emergence of such a commitment,” he said.
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