Ambassador of Armenia: ′′ You can’t buy a homeland for money!”

Tigran Mkrtchyan believes that the world community should tougherly assess the military conflict
It seemed that the words ′′ war in Nagorno Karabakh “, ′′ shelling of Stepanakert “, ′′ refugees from Sumgait ′′ are something from the past that will never return. But Armenia and Azerbaijan are at war again – they could not agree, or they did not even try. That’s why instead of cities, the ruins sat down, and memories and photos remain from people. In an interview with the Ambassador of Armenia to Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia Tigran Mkrtchyan, we offer you a point of view about this war from the Armenian side.

Footage of the chronicles as from World War II

– For two weeks (conversation took place on October 9) the war continues in Karabakh. Anti-fighting parties suffer losses, but the information from the war zone is very contradictory. Why, what do you think?

– Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh – Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is now happening in Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia helps Karabakh. And Azerbaijan fully supports Turkey, plus – they are involved in Syria’s jihadists, as well as, according to the latest information, from Central Asia. Azerbaijan with the help of force wants to conquer this territory by force and uses all means to do so. Civil objects – kindergartens, schools, hospitals, churches – for no one and no exceptions are made. Photos from today’s Stepanakert are as if it’s a chronicle of World War II from destroyed cities.

– Azerbaijan claims that it acts on its internationally recognized territories.

– And immediately there are a number of questions. Firstly, Karabakh was never part of independent Azerbaijan – neither in the beginning of the century, in 1918, nor in the 90 s, when Azerbaijan became sovereign as a result of the collapse of the USSR, Karabakh was beyond his control. But even if Azerbaijan’s rhetoric is that they fight for their cities and villages, it is unclear how you can compare everything to the earth and kill civilians?

– Do you understand why this is happening right now? What is the reason?

– I think that Turkey plays a huge role here, led by great neo-oasmanic ambition. Turkey’s politics in Libya, Syria, the Mediterranean has failed, but Erdogan seems to want to ′′ succeed ′′ in some other direction. Probably, the Caucasus is a new battlefield for him. Russia is busy with its problems. The US will have elections and it is unclear what will happen next. Probably Erdogan and [Azerbaijani President Ilham] Aliyev believed that now is a good time for active action, as there is some chaos in the international arena. By that war, Turkish and Azerbaijani leaders distract residents from domestic political problems.

Key participants of war and peace

– There is a clear feeling that you are making more claims against Turkey than Azerbaijan.

– Turkey is a key participant of the war. After the armed clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan last July, Azerbaijan held large-scale military exercises with Turkey. After that, a number of military equipment and specialists remained in Azerbaijan – Turkish F-16 fighters continued to fly in the area of Karabakh. In addition, Islamic militants from Syria began to arrive in Azerbaijan, according to the data of special services. It all looked strange and dangerous; as we understand, then the preparatory plan for the organization of aggression in Karabakh has already begun.

– However, Azerbaijan denies the participation of Islamic militants in this conflict.

– Azerbaijan denies everything! At the time when we talk, Stepanakert is bombarded. However, Azerbaijan denies it, saying that they shoot only at military objects. But is the church a military object? There are many evidence of the participation in the war of Islamic militants. This is not only the world media, but also the intelligence agencies of foreign intelligence agencies. The President of France and the head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, who calls specific names and organizations, talks about this. Iran, the United States, and the United States, and the United Kingdom are concerned about jihadists in Karabakh. So Azerbaijan can continue to deny everything, but facts are stubborn. By the way, in the first war, in 1991-1994 the Afghan mujahidas participated. And now one of those militants said that he was going to return and bring it to the end.
Historically, both Armenia and Azerbaijan have very close ties with Russia, which so far is limited only to calls for a peaceful settlement of the conflict. Can she help with some more active attitude?

Russia has full information on what is happening there. Russia has a huge impact in the region and honestly, it is difficult to determine who is more [in Armenia or Azerbaijan]. Now Russia has taken a neutral position and is a mediator in the conflict. But the fact that Turkey fully supports Azerbaijan, as well as the participation of Islamic terrorists in the war, cannot help but worry Russia. After all, this war takes place close to the Russian territory – only about 80 kilometers to Dagestan. From my point of view, Russia together with the United States and France is able to stop this bloodshed. For the beginning, I think, stronger assessments of events are needed from the global community. It must be clearly shown – who is the aggressor and who is the victim. You can also think about the imposition of sanctions. We cannot allow the second phase of the Armenian genocide. Saying ′′ we “, I mean the world Armenian, which Mr. Aliyev considers as enemy No. 1.

Great tragedy of neighbors
In your opinion, how will the armed conflict develop?

It’s impossible to see this. But one thing I am sure is percent: Nagorny Karabakh, Artsakh, cannot become part of Azerbaijan. Armenians live several thousand years in this territory. By the way, this land has always been independent. If we allow this aggression to continue, our opponents will only have an appetite, and they will continue to capture other lands of Armenia. The propaganda that Azerbaijan is a state of great heritage and lands on which Armenia is now located. The other side of the medal is Armenianophobia, which reigns in Azerbaijan and Turkey, where this disease lasts for more than a century. For them, Armenians are not people, but, according to Aliyev’s public statement, ′′ like dogs “. This is a great tragedy that our neighbors want to erase us from history and in general, from the face of the earth. But we are an ancient nation, and we stand out. For Armenians, Karabakh is a matter of life and death, for Azerbaijan is just ambition.
War is a costly event. Azerbaijan openly declares that the state defence budget exceeds the state budget of Armenia…

Yes, they can buy guns, pay jihadists, bribe some European politicians and maybe even some current or former heads of state. But it’s not enough to have claims for a region that is not native to Azerbaijan, which appeared only in 1918 Before that, there was no Azerbaijan. So not everything can be bought for money. You can’t buy the homeland for money!

I think the current aggression, including the participation of international terrorists, means Azerbaijan has lost its chances of reaching its goals and seizing Karabakh. Karabakh can and should become an independent state and get the same rights that had, say, East Timor, South Sudan, Kosovo. There are precedents in world practice.
Conflict without small 30 years. Why has the case of recognition of Karabakh independence not moved over the years?

This whole story is a hundred years old. After all, Karabakh was joined to Soviet Azerbaijan in 1921 by Stalin’s illegitimate decision. After his death, the residents of Karabakh, Armenians, hundreds and thousands wrote petitions to the Soviet government asking for disconnection. But in the USSR, all national questions tried not to raise, and silence was the best strategy. The next call for sovereignty was made in 1988, but the answer was tough – pogroms in Sumgaiti, Baku and Kirovobad. Well, immediately after the collapse of the USSR, when the residents of Karabakh in the referendum expressed their independence, Azerbaijan started a full-scale war. Since 1991, we, Armenians, have called for peace negotiations and hoped that we could find compromises. But as we see, the bloodshed war of authoritarianism against democracy continues today.