Azernews.Az

Elnur Enveroglu

Read more

The recent meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in their presence on the fringes of the Munich Security Conference could be a crucial point in covert and overt international efforts to contribute to Baku's strenuous efforts to have the problem resolved once and for all.

Azerbaijan has skillfully used the Munich avenue and knocked Armenia down to earth by laying bare its lies about non-involvement in the occupation of lands in and around Karabakh.

The annual Munich Security Conference attracted the attention of the world's leading media and political analysts since this forum is considered to be a showcase of ideas that will influence the prospects for the world order.

The plenary session with the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia with the Georgian prime minister for the first time in such a format under “Moving Mountains? Building Security in the South Caucasus” also illuminated Azerbaijan's firm and resolute advance towards the peak of the target and proved no return back to pre-realities of 2020.

As was planned by the delegations at the MSC, everyone told about their own issues and no doubt wanted to hear words of backing or at least solidarity with this or that point. I would say regrettably that we were as before did not hear much solidarity with our truth but I am more than confident that there is absolutely no point in relying on anyone in such cases. We have to be driven by the adage, reading "be strong to have a system of deterrence in place".

As at all venues, Munich is also a spectacular value to sell your truths, and Azerbaijan has again made its own truths be heard, the rest is up to its own determination to implement them.

Nevertheless, several key points highlighted by President Ilham Aliyev at the meeting were impressive. The most important thing, as the president noted, was the removal of the name "Nagorno-Karabakh" within the framework of the principles of Azerbaijan's sovereign territorial rights, which as mentioned by the president “the partners should respect”.

“Just for your information, the word Nagorno-Karabakh is no longer valid. This is actually the Russian word. “Nagorno” means mountainous. And in Azerbaijan, there is no such administrative unit like Nagorno-Karabakh. Therefore, of course, I would like to ask our partners to respect the sovereignty and the constitution of Azerbaijan. There is a Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, where there is Armenian population.”

Of course, while the Munich Security Conference was supposed to play the role of a guarantor of peace and security, it grossly violated these principles and ignored the unfair claims against Azerbaijan. Because at the meeting, from the moderator's approach to the questions, it was obvious who was in which position.

The most noticeable point at the conference was the European side's attempt to make two of the three states representing the South Caucasus - that is, Georgia and Azerbaijan - mostly stand in confrontation with Russia.

Actually, this approach of the West and Europe has been repeated many times in history. The issue of Georgia's Abkhazia and South Ossetia that they were discussing, throwing Saakashvili into the arena and leaving him helplessly in an awkward situation, arming Ukraine and turning its territory into a war zone is the traditional policy of the West. The Munich Security Conference was more about putting its ambitious attitude forward than maintaining security or growing peace atmosphere in the room in a literal sense.

Viewed in this way, President Ilham Aliyev's answer to the last question fully revealed the true face of the biased approach to issues, as well as pro-Armenianism and lobbying. When the president said "so-called Brussels format", he also stated that this consent document, which is just on paper, is nothing different from the OSCE Minsk Group which was obviously useless for 28 years.

In addition, at the meeting, President Aliyev, speaking about the platform created with the European Union along with a number of countries regarding the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, especially by leaving France out of the issue, emphasized that the West views the processes in the South Caucasus through the eyes of Armenia.

Munich Security Conference is no more than bolstering Armenian ambition

In a nutshell, the speeches in Munich went down in history as a moment to show that Europe is not interested in the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, and it exposed that it serves the interests of Armenia. For this, it is enough to remember President Ilham Aliyev's answer to the last question:

“It was absolutely acceptable for Armenia because they wanted to seal the situation, to keep our lands under occupation forever. It was acceptable for Armenian friends in different parts of the world. But it was not acceptable to us. And we were preparing, we were mobilizing our efforts, we were growing a new generation. Growing a new generation, which came and liberated the lands which they have never seen because they were young. They were not even born when Armenia occupied our lands. Therefore, peace talks, yes, I am not against it, but you have to restore justice by force. And this is your legitimate right. This is a right given to you by Chapter 51 of the United Nations. And we used that right. And we fought on our territory.”

Of course, the nearly 30-year-long occupation of almost 20% of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia did not make supporters of the aggressor least nervous rather than encouraged Yerevan through their quiescence. However, times changed and Azerbaijan has regained lost confidence and occupied lands through national unity forged by independence and the thirst for sovereignty and determination to put win back what was lost in the early and fragile independence period.

After all, why they be pleased? Who needs stability in the South Caucasus? Peace is none of their business. Because peace in the South Caucasus means an end to the intervention of the West and other interested players in the region once and for all.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz