Your trusted source

The United Nations marked its 75th anniversary on Monday, September 21. The world leaders spoke at a special UN meeting on its “birthday”, highlighting the role of the UN, multilateralism, the need for reforms in the structure and its Security Council in line with the new challenges facing the world, as well as the need to make vaccine accessible to all amid the coronavirus pandemic.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for reforms to the UN Security Council, condemning the frequent use of veto. Global challenges require cooperation at all levels, the German leader said, citing the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. Merkel said the interests of individual member states had “too often” forced the United Nations to lag behind its ideals.

Addressing the UN, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the world is tired of dividing lines, armed conflicts, international crimes and new challenges, including the coronavirus pandemic, which require multilateral assistance and cooperation. Lavrov stressed that the goals articulated 75 years ago at the founding of the United Nations are becoming increasingly relevant.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, too, delivered a video message on the UN anniversary, first speaking on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement headed by him, and then as the leader of Azerbaijan.

Aliyev again used the occasion of the UN anniversary to complain about Armenia: "Armenia has occupied Karabakh and seven regions, 1 million refugees…". He again accused Armenia of disrupting the negotiation process.

"Armenia is preparing for new aggression against Azerbaijan," Aliyev said, calling on the UN and the international community to "urge Armenia to refrain from another military aggression." According to Aliyev, the Karabakh conflict “must be resolved on the basis of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.”

The recent statements of the Azerbaijan president seem to be the aftershocks of the July battles. It was clear at the time that the Azerbaijani authorities would take the July defeat hard. Positions, a general, a minister and, finally, ranking – these comprise the short list of Aliyev’s losses.

Azerbaijani propaganda is actively spreading the thesis that Russia and also the Serbs helped Armenia to win the July battles, as it is twice as difficult for a dictator to come to terms with a defeat from “an Armenia”, which he presented for decades as a poor and weak country that could be defeated in case they wished to. It is difficult to convince one's own society that the billions of dollars spent on state-of-the-art weapons are justified.

As a matter of fact, if any country actively supported one of the conflicting parties, it was Turkey. The unequivocal support voiced by the latter to its brotherly Azerbaijani, no matter how reassuring it was for Azerbaijan, was mismeasured in terms of strategy. Turkey's excessive activity in the South Caucasus may provoke resistance from other players in the region.

The other thesis is that Armenia is to blame for the Tavush clashes, alleging the country targeted the oil, gas and transport infrastructures of Azerbaijan. It tries to present Armenia as a destabilizing factor in the context of European energy security and regional peace. However, Armenia has always been aware of the location of Azerbaijan's oil, gas and transport infrastructures, and it is unclear why they should have been targeted in July.

Aliyev is also “dissatisfied” with the negotiation process, saying that “there is no settlement plan on the negotiating table." In this case, Aliyev is again trying to put the blame on the Armenian side. The lack of progress in the talks has always been due to Azerbaijani maximalist ambitions, coupled with threats of the use of force. Aliyev’s threats of the use of force “did not work", moreover, he began to hear "demands" from Armenia, which pushed him to take desperate actions.

As for the allegations that Armenia is preparing for an all-out war, as one of the characters of the famous film "Prisoner of the Caucasus" would say, "only Allah knows" why Armenia would need a war.