Azerbaijan must sign a non-aggression pact
On the occasion of the June 26th joint-statement by Presidents Sarkozy, Medvedev and Obama in Toronto regarding the principles of settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy calls, for the second time, on the OSCE to urgently require of Azerbaijan the signature of a non-aggression pact as a pre-requisite to the peace negotiations mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair nations.
The European Armenian Federation considers that this new statement by the Presidents of the Co-Chair nations, while expressing the will “to point out” the elements of the L’Aquila initial statement of 10th July 2009, in effect, compromises the future of the negotiations — and therefore the hope for a durable peace in the region — by its one-sided formulations and its inherently imbalanced assessments of the situation. The Federation notes, for example, that while the L’Aquila statement referred to the territorial package of the negotiations as “the territories surrounding the Nagorno Karabakh”, the Toronto statement deliberately qualifies these as “occupied territories” thus taking sides with Azerbaijan on a fundamental issue of the negotiating process .
“We expected the Presidents to deliver a firm condemnation of the most recent Azerbaijani act of aggression violating the existing Cease Fire Agreement and causing major bloodshed along the Cease Fire line; instead, they adopted the vocabulary and the positions of Azerbaijan in their joint statement” stated Hilda Tchoboian, the President of the European Armenian Federation.. We are indeed surprised by the script being promoted in the statement. We note the obvious difference between the precise one-sided demands the Presidents make on the elements of an intermediate solution, including the withdrawal of the Armenian forces, and the vague pronouncements of procedure regarding the path to lead to the final status of the Nagorno Karabakh. Such neglect relating to such vital issues impacting the basic security of the Armenian people in the region is unacceptable” continued Hilda Tchoboian.
The Federation considers that after this recent Azeri violation of the Cease fire and the assassination of 4 Armenian border security troops on June 18th, the Armenian confidence in the negotiating process is shaken. These attacks, the day following the meeting between the Armenian and Azeri presidents in St Petersburg, proved once again that President Aliev is preparing for war while misleading the world by participating in the OSCE peace process.
The international community must take note of Azerbaijan’s excessive investments in armaments and military technology (multiplication by 1300% of the military budget in 5 years) before it is too late. The world must also take seriously the warmongering statements by the top Azerbaijani leaders. Azerbaijan must be strongly condemned by the interational community for these policies. It must especially be condemned by the European Union and the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group.
“Not to firmly criticize the Azerbaijani state for its acts of aggression and its violations of the Cease Fire Agreement would make the Co-Chair nations of the Minsk Group indirect promoters of the arms race in the region, rapidly leading to the disintegration of the peace process which they are mandated to enforce. The world cannot afford to have a repetition of Munich 1938 in the South Causasus” stated Hilda Tchoboian.
Lastly, the Federation reiterates its call of August 1st, 2009 on the OSCE (http://eafjd.eu/spip.php?article546), to demand Azerbaijan a non-aggression pact before continuing the peace negotiations between the two countries on the basis of mutual confidence, essential to any peace negotiation.
