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War Talk: Bellicose statements from Azerbaijan and Turkey obstruct the search for peace over Nagorno Karabakh
By Aris Ghazinyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
The peculiarity of the current stage of the search for ways of resolving the Karabakh problem is the fact that the term “peaceful” is applied less and less often to the question of settlement. It has been replaced by other notions such as “speediest settlement” or, more dangerously, “settlement by any means”.
Lieutenant-General Aghabekyan: If Azeris start fire they will get a tough response
The last phrase suggests a military resolution of the problem and, as a rule, was voiced only by official Azerbaijan. However, similar statements could be heard lately also from Turkish figures.
“I believe that in the event of a resumption of war Azerbaijan will win,” reserve Major-General Necat Eslen, a member of the Center of Global Strategic Studies of Turkey, said on March 24.
The Azeri-Press News Agency quotes the Turkish general’s opinion: “If Azerbaijan takes steps to solve the problem, neither the European Union, nor the United States will obstruct it. Turkey ought to be ready to render any assistance, since Azerbaijan is a very important state for the world powers.”
Saying that Turkey and Azerbaijan already coordinate their actions on a number of issues, Eslen said that such cooperation would be moved onto the military plane as well. He said: “A NATO membership with part of its territory occupied will be of no use for Azerbaijan. First it has to solve the problem of recovering the occupied territories.”
On March 27, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev stated that “Armenia’s unconstructive position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement forces Baku to amend its policy on solving the conflict.”
Speaking at a ceremony to award the military banner and unveil a monument to Heidar Aliyev at the Academy of the Ministry of National Security, President Aliyev declared that “Armenia must know that we are able to solve the issue militarily at any moment.”
He pointed out that Azerbaijan is annually increasing its military spending from the state budget and that it will continue to do so in the future. The Azeri leader said: “It is the sovereign right of a country to increase spending on defense. It is a natural process in a country whose sovereignty was infringed and which is in a state of armed conflict.”
Armenia’s Deputy Defense Minister, Lieutenant-General Artur Aghabekyan voiced Yerevan’s reaction on March 28. He said: “The Azeri side will get a tough response if it opens fire in the direction of Armenian positions.”
According to him, Armenia’s armed forces are ready to rebut any threat both from Azerbaijan or another state. The deputy defense minister thinks that the increase in clashes along the line of contact between the armed forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan is connected to ongoing engineering and construction works as well as the war rhetoric of the Azeri leadership.
Peter Semneby, the European Union’s new Special Representative for the South Caucasus, spoke the same day. In an interview with RFE/RL’s Azeri Service, the Swedish diplomat said: “The resolution of conflicts in the South Caucasus will be one of the priorities of the EU. It is a signal for a more active involvement of the organization in issues of resolving problem situations.”
He warned that “Armenia may remain isolated if a solution to the conflict is not found”. At the same time, Semneby did not hide his concern over the rise in military rhetoric from Baku, saying: “Attempts to resolve the conflict by military means will have very serious consequences. The flow of investments into Azerbaijan may drastically reduce.”
The Azeri-Turkish war talk during the week was interwoven with the Armenian Genocide issue. In particular, on March 27, the Armenian community of the United States organized an action of protest against Turkey’s Defense Minister Vecdi Genul’s speech in Washington as part of a summit on “The Changing Security Situation in Eurasia and Turkey’s Strategic Importance”.
The Turkish “Vatan” newspaper reported that the Turkish minister described Turkish-American relations as the foundation of Turkey’s foreign policy. Asked by one of the summit’s participants why Turkey did not admit the Armenian Genocide, Genul replied: “In fact, there is nothing to admit.”
Other Turkish figures issued similar statements on the same day. “Recognition of the Armenian Genocide in the US will be a serious blow against the Turkish-American relations,” Turkish Press reports quoted former Ambassador Gunduz Aktan as saying on his visit to the US. Aktan was also a member of the former Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission.
“If the US Congress recognizes the Armenian Genocide and President Bush uses the word “genocide” in his annual speech on April 24, it will definitely have a political impact and will create a serious threat to bilateral relations,” the retired Turkish ambassador emphasized. Another retired ambassador Omer Lutem made a similar statement.
“The instigative activities of Turkey, which, by the way, rendered to Azerbaijan not only financial, but also military and technical assistance during the years of the Karabakh war, must be condemned by the international community,” political analyst Armen Poghosyan argues.
“Especially in recent times, Turkish figures have issued very dangerous statements that ‘encourage’ Azerbaijan and may act as catalysts in the possible renewal of hostilities.”
By Aris Ghazinyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
The peculiarity of the current stage of the search for ways of resolving the Karabakh problem is the fact that the term “peaceful” is applied less and less often to the question of settlement. It has been replaced by other notions such as “speediest settlement” or, more dangerously, “settlement by any means”.
Lieutenant-General Aghabekyan: If Azeris start fire they will get a tough response
The last phrase suggests a military resolution of the problem and, as a rule, was voiced only by official Azerbaijan. However, similar statements could be heard lately also from Turkish figures.
“I believe that in the event of a resumption of war Azerbaijan will win,” reserve Major-General Necat Eslen, a member of the Center of Global Strategic Studies of Turkey, said on March 24.
The Azeri-Press News Agency quotes the Turkish general’s opinion: “If Azerbaijan takes steps to solve the problem, neither the European Union, nor the United States will obstruct it. Turkey ought to be ready to render any assistance, since Azerbaijan is a very important state for the world powers.”
Saying that Turkey and Azerbaijan already coordinate their actions on a number of issues, Eslen said that such cooperation would be moved onto the military plane as well. He said: “A NATO membership with part of its territory occupied will be of no use for Azerbaijan. First it has to solve the problem of recovering the occupied territories.”
On March 27, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev stated that “Armenia’s unconstructive position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement forces Baku to amend its policy on solving the conflict.”
Speaking at a ceremony to award the military banner and unveil a monument to Heidar Aliyev at the Academy of the Ministry of National Security, President Aliyev declared that “Armenia must know that we are able to solve the issue militarily at any moment.”
He pointed out that Azerbaijan is annually increasing its military spending from the state budget and that it will continue to do so in the future. The Azeri leader said: “It is the sovereign right of a country to increase spending on defense. It is a natural process in a country whose sovereignty was infringed and which is in a state of armed conflict.”
Armenia’s Deputy Defense Minister, Lieutenant-General Artur Aghabekyan voiced Yerevan’s reaction on March 28. He said: “The Azeri side will get a tough response if it opens fire in the direction of Armenian positions.”
According to him, Armenia’s armed forces are ready to rebut any threat both from Azerbaijan or another state. The deputy defense minister thinks that the increase in clashes along the line of contact between the armed forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan is connected to ongoing engineering and construction works as well as the war rhetoric of the Azeri leadership.
Peter Semneby, the European Union’s new Special Representative for the South Caucasus, spoke the same day. In an interview with RFE/RL’s Azeri Service, the Swedish diplomat said: “The resolution of conflicts in the South Caucasus will be one of the priorities of the EU. It is a signal for a more active involvement of the organization in issues of resolving problem situations.”
He warned that “Armenia may remain isolated if a solution to the conflict is not found”. At the same time, Semneby did not hide his concern over the rise in military rhetoric from Baku, saying: “Attempts to resolve the conflict by military means will have very serious consequences. The flow of investments into Azerbaijan may drastically reduce.”
The Azeri-Turkish war talk during the week was interwoven with the Armenian Genocide issue. In particular, on March 27, the Armenian community of the United States organized an action of protest against Turkey’s Defense Minister Vecdi Genul’s speech in Washington as part of a summit on “The Changing Security Situation in Eurasia and Turkey’s Strategic Importance”.
The Turkish “Vatan” newspaper reported that the Turkish minister described Turkish-American relations as the foundation of Turkey’s foreign policy. Asked by one of the summit’s participants why Turkey did not admit the Armenian Genocide, Genul replied: “In fact, there is nothing to admit.”
Other Turkish figures issued similar statements on the same day. “Recognition of the Armenian Genocide in the US will be a serious blow against the Turkish-American relations,” Turkish Press reports quoted former Ambassador Gunduz Aktan as saying on his visit to the US. Aktan was also a member of the former Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission.
“If the US Congress recognizes the Armenian Genocide and President Bush uses the word “genocide” in his annual speech on April 24, it will definitely have a political impact and will create a serious threat to bilateral relations,” the retired Turkish ambassador emphasized. Another retired ambassador Omer Lutem made a similar statement.
“The instigative activities of Turkey, which, by the way, rendered to Azerbaijan not only financial, but also military and technical assistance during the years of the Karabakh war, must be condemned by the international community,” political analyst Armen Poghosyan argues.
“Especially in recent times, Turkish figures have issued very dangerous statements that ‘encourage’ Azerbaijan and may act as catalysts in the possible renewal of hostilities.”