Ilham Aliyev slapped mediators in the face at UN General Assembly
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev delivered a speech at the session of the United Nations General Assembly the day before. The Azeri Padishah in his speech addressed the three-fold GDP growth recorded during his tenure, Azerbaijan’s energy riches and favorable geo-strategic position. However, his speech mostly focused on the Karabakh-Azerbaijan conflict. Ilham Heydar oglu used the UN high tribune for spreading disinformation, distorting the process and essence of the conflict. Moreover, he even distorted the proposals presented by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs.
After warm greetings addressed to the session chairman Ilham Aliyev got down to propaganda tricks. “The ongoing armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has been posing a serious danger to provision of international and regional peace and security so far. The conflict resulted in occupation of one fifth of Azerbaijan’s territory, and one of nine residents of my country became refugees or internally displaced. The Republic of Armenia was internationally recognized as responsible for occupation of Azerbaijan’s territories, grave international crimes, ethnic cleansings committed during the conflict.”
The old songs about 20 percent and 1 million are not something new. Representing his country’s infringement on Artsakh people as a conflict with Armenia is not something new, either. However, spreading public falsehood at UN higher tribune, especially by country’s first figure, is indeed a new policy.
In fact, according to Ilham Aliyev’s logic, Armenia is responsible for Baku and Sumgayit massacres, deportation of ethnic Armenians, “Operation Koltso” (Ring), bombardment of peaceful population and keeping them under everyday air attacks. Isn’t it unconvincing? Probably, Ilham Aliyev took participants of UN General Assembly session for the viewers of the Azerbaijani Public Television especially as he asserted that his above mentioned wish is an “internationally recognized” fact. Absolute nonsense. By the way, Aliyev again remembered the four resolutions of the UN Security Council as alleged evidence of his statements and forgot to mention that they use the notion “Armenia” in a single context – to use its influence on Nagorno Karabakh factual authorities for NKR and Azerbaijan to carry out the proposals envisaged by the resolutions. Ilham Aliyev either does not understand this nuance or pretends not to be understanding. However, to publicly pretend that heads of 192 states do not understand it is impudent.
Ilham Aliyev also stated in his speech: “So far, Armenia has not been negotiating through its own free will to resolve the conflict as soon as possible, but has been giving preference to escalation having unpredictable consequences.”
Ilham Aliyev is just inimitable here. Does anyone remember when last the Azerbaijani authorities and personally Ilham Aliyev urged not to use force? You do not remember it since they only said they wish to make war. And do you know what country rejects international community’s proposal to withdraw snipers from the contact line and thus to relieve the tension? If you don’t know we will say that this country is Azerbaijan; Ilham Aliyev personally dared to reject the proposal and to convince OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries that Armenia aggravates the situation.
However, the slap in mediators’ face was not limited to it. He dared to distort the text of the joint statement by co-chairing countries’ Presidents. We quote it word for word: “The co-chairing countries in the OSCE Minsk Group have expanded their efforts aiming at establishment of peace and stability in the region. Resolution of the conflict implies withdrawal of Armenian troops from Azerbaijani occupied territories according to the schedule, restoration of all communications, return of all refugees and internally displaced persons to places of their former residence, interim status of Nagorno Karabakh. We are ready to keep goodwill negotiations to complete the process over Nagorno Karabakh status within Azerbaijan.”
Nuts to him! We suppose the mediator countries themselves should comment upon this statement. We do not already mention that Ilham Aliyev “edited” the principles confirmed twice by the signatures of Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Dmitry Medvedev (they are rather known as “Madrid principles”). However, if he dares to distort the 6th, in essence, most important principle, in the presence of these persons or officials coming up on their behalf, it is not naughtiness but impudence.
We should mention that in the statements adopted in 2009 in L’Aquila and in 2010 in Muskoka the heads of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries established: “Nagorno Karabakh’s final status is established by expression of legally binding will.” You see that there is no word “Azerbaijan” in this statement. However, Aliyev not only squeezed Azerbaijan there but also expressed a good will to negotiate. It is curious that after the distorted statement Ilham Aliyev declared that Armenia delays response to these proposals. Ilham Aliyev’s memory seems to have stopped at some point. He has forgotten that he escaped from Saint Petersburg, so far, he has been rejecting and evading the proposals presented to the parties. Certainly, he knows that the Armenian party has expressed readiness to keep negotiating on the basis of the current proposals but he did not want to voice it. I think someone has misled him convincing him that in the other hemisphere of the Globe historical facts change like cosmic phenomena. In Ilham Aliyev’s opinion, if it is night in Almaty while it is daytime in New York, then in New York he can lay on Armenia the blame for his Almaty rejection. No, historical facts are much more stable, they are only turned upside down in the official history chronology of Azerbaijan and similar countries.
This is not yet the complete enumeration of the pearls of Ilham Aliyev’s thought. (For instance, he declared: “Azerbaijan has always been a place of tolerance and co-existence of different religions, ethnic groups and world views.” To confirm his statement he said that a summit of religious leaders with participation of 32 countries’ delegations has been held this year in Baku. Naturally, Ilham Aliyev forgot “bright evidence” of his words – destruction of Armenian cemeteries in Baku and Nor Jugha, destruction of Armenian cultural heritage, forced displacement of ethnic Armenians, assimilation of other national minorities - Udis, Talishes, Lezgis, and other peoples). However, it is already sufficient to show that Azerbaijan’s participation in the negotiation process is formal, and Ilham Aliyev does not plan to resolve the conflict at all.
A question emerges: will the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs give an adequate response to him or will make standard statements urging the parties to be restrained and not to make statements that could distort the essence of the talks?