The restoration of transport communications in Nagorno-Karabakh will serve the development of international transit for Russia, Iran, Turkey and Georgia. This opinion was expressed by the Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council Rashid Nurgaliyev in a commentary for Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
He noted that the end of the hot phase of the armed conflict in the region has opened new opportunities for a peaceful life, good neighborliness and mutually beneficial cooperation between the peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan. "And such an approach is already visible," Nurgaliyev stressed, recalling the decision to unblock economic and transport ties in Nagorno-Karabakh.
"As a priority, the restoration of rail and road communications to ensure transportation for the benefit of Armenia and Azerbaijan is established. The neighboring countries - Russia, Iran, Turkey and Georgia - will also be able to take advantage of these communications in order to develop international transit," Nurgaliyev said.
He underscored that on this basis, "fundamental prerequisites for the comprehensive resolution of the long-standing conflict in Karabakh are being created". "It remains for everyone to implement them together," the deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council said.
Russian Security Council believes that Russia's Karabakh plan allowed to resolve the conflict without the use of force
The concept of a step-by-step settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh, which was prepared by Russia several years ago, made it possible to resolve the conflict without the use of force.
Nurgaliyev noted that Russia has always advocated a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, taking into account the interests of all sides. In 2016, the Russian Foreign Ministry presented a concept on the step-by-step settlement of the situation around Karabakh, the last version of the document was handed over to the parties in 2019, the deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council recalled.
"If these proposals could be implemented, then the peaceful population of Karabakh would be created conditions for a normal life, and Azerbaijan would return its lost areas without resorting to the use of force," Nurgaliyev stressed.
He explained that the concept assumed the return of five districts to Azerbaijan in the first phase after the deployment of international peacekeeping forces, granting Nagorno-Karabakh the rights to form authorities and self-defense forces, ending the blockade of the region by Azerbaijan. The second stage involved putting two more districts under Baku's control "in conjunction with the determination of the legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh by holding a referendum in accordance with international norms". It was also supposed to leave a corridor in the Lachin district for Nagorno-Karabakh's transport communication with Armenia.
"These proposals were central to the negotiation process, in which both the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan participated," Nurgaliyev pointed out. - "The direct dialogue between Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan did not cease until 2020, but unfortunately, the parties were unable to reach a full agreement".
On the situation around Karabakh
Baku and Yerevan have been contesting ownership of Nagorno-Karabakh since February 1988, when it declared its secession from the Azerbaijani SSR. The situation in the region escalated on September 27, with active fighting there. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the full cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh last November 9. According to the document, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides stopped at the occupied positions, a number of areas came under Baku's control, and Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the line of contact and the Lachin corridor.
On January 11, following a meeting in Moscow between Putin, Aliyev and Pashinyan, a joint statement was signed, which, in particular, provided for the establishment of a trilateral working group at the level of deputy prime ministers to unblock all economic and transport ties in the region.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Stanislav Krasilnikov / TASS
Based on materials from TASS