Aliyev considers the international treaties as a “scrap of paper without any value” while Kiselyov glorifies him
French President Francois Hollande will discuss the issue of the Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts on April 24 and 25, during his visit to Yerevan and Baku, informed the French Secretary of State for European Affairs Harlem Désir. The current status quo does not meet the interests of either Armenia or Azerbaijan. “Therefore, the President of the Republic, desiring to promote the resumption of diplomatic initiatives, convened on 27 October 2014 a summit of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. During this meeting, agreement was reached on the first step of the humanities – the exchange of information about the missing,” said Désir.
As said by French Secretary of State for European Affairs, the tension of recent months demonstrates the urgent need for implementation of these principles. Therefore, France will actively continue its efforts in this direction. In late January, French President Francois Hollande attended the annual banquet of the Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations in France, in which he called on Turkey to take new steps towards the “truth” behind the mass killings and massacres of Armenians a century ago, as well as noted that “it’s time to break the taboos.”
On this very day, it became known that the French president will be in Yerevan on April 24, the day of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, and will attend the ceremony in Yerevan commemorating the victims of the Genocide. “The effort towards the truth must continue and I am convinced that this centenary year will see new gestures, new steps on the road to recognition,” mentioned Hollande that day. Russian President Vladimir Putin, possibly, will arrive in Armenia close to April 20. As TASS reported, the information that the dates of the visit are pending was approved by the Russian President’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov for the journalists. “Indeed, the issue of the visit is on the agenda. It’s in the process and under discussion,” he said. “When the date is determined and confirmed, we will inform you about it,” promised Peskov.
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Last week, during the 5th media conference “At the Foot of Mount Ararat”, Serzh Sargsyan noted that Putin possibly will come to Yerevan to attend the events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. It turns out that Francois Hollande’s visit to Armenia is not only due to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide but also the talks on the Karabakh conflict settlement. That is probably the reason for recent activity of France in Karabakh issue and the aspiration to organize another Sargsyan-Aliyev meeting. However, so far no grounds are seen towards making the meeting of Sargsyan-Aliyev possible.
As for Putin’s visit, it is more remarkable on the background of recent estimates voiced by Serzh Sargsyan pertaining to Russia’s selling of weapons to Azerbaijan and Armenia’s security. Whether this issue will be discussed during Putin’s possible visit in April and what response it will have from official Kremlin, it is hard to say. Russia would hardly give up the “Moscow business” during these difficult days for Russia for the sake of “strategic” relationship with Armenia. To the point, the recent published report on “Trends in International Armed Transfers-2014” by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which stated that Azerbaijan has become the second largest importer of the main weapons in Europe.
The report that contained a comparative analysis between the data of import and export of arms in a number of regions for 2010-2014 and 2005-2009, noted that Azerbaijan ranked the second in Europe by its 13 percent supply level of import of arms in 2005-2009 as compared to 2010-14. To the point, in 2010-2014 as compared to 2005-2009, Azerbaijan has increased its arms import by 249 percent. According to the report, 85 percent of imported weapons to Azerbaijan was purchased from Russia. In addition to giving a boost to enrichment of arms in and incitement of war, official Baku does no more hide its explicit attitude towards the international law and the treaties.
A few days ago, the president of Azerbaijan, in his speech on the occasion of Novruz Bayram, has said that the “International law doesn’t work in the modern world, international agreements are just a scrap of paper without any value,” and added, “The one who has power ignores the agreements. That means a new period has started in the world and we should be aware of it. It was not us who started the period. We have always relied on the international law and built our politics this way. We have raised our voice- why aren’t the UN Security Council resolutions fulfilled? They directly indicate that the Azerbaijani lands should be immediately and unreservedly be released of occupation. That means that the international law is merely an instrument in the hands of the powerful states to force the weaker states to do something. But the international law for them is nothing. We do see it – so does everyone. We do see it in all the corners of the world – who is strong, is right. What does it suggest? It suggests that one needs to be strong.” When the entire civilized world alerts about the growth of tension on the Karabakh line of contact, as well as the deplorable state of human rights in Azerbaijan and the authoritarian nature of Aliyev’s regime, the Russian side continues pleasing Aliyev.
Founder of “Griboyedov” Club Kiselyov, who arrives in Armenia every month, in his interview to “Vestnik Kavkaza”, delighted speak about Azerbaijan and the achievements of the President of this country. Talking about Russian-Azerbaijani relations, General Director of “Rossiya Segodnya” Kiselyov said, “I have an invitation to the 2015 European Games, and I recently visited Azerbaijan, where I observed the scale of the preparations for the competition. Frankly saying, I’m fascinated by the development which Azerbaijan is showing and the welcoming atmosphere that exists in the country. My wife also has warm feelings. Unfortunately, we visited only Baku, but the Azerbaijani capital is much more impressive than many European ones. I think that these games are positioning Azerbaijan on the world map as a growing point, and this is nice.”
In his words, relations between Russia and Azerbaijan not only have great potential in the future, but also a “big present”. “I would like to mention the role of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. He has such a quality of keeping his word. In present times, even the leaders of major world powers don’t have this quality, but Aliyev demonstrates it. I think it determines the nature of the friendship and trust between Putin and Aliyev. They both know they can always count on each other, on the understanding and fulfillment of mutual commitments. Aliyev’s toughness and strategic wisdom of maintaining peace in Azerbaijan ensure very good prospects for the country and the people.”
Emma GABRIELYAN
