Lukashenko considers Russia's mission in settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict sufficient
The President of Belarus held a working meeting with the Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, Stanislav Zas, focusing on the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and ways to resolve the conflict between Baku and Yerevan
The Head of State voiced Belarus’ position: the peacekeeping mission of the Russian Federation is sufficient here, and it is no need to involve additional structures in negotiations.
Addressing Stanislav Zas, the President noted, “We will once again focus on the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. After all, you have personally gone there, and you have seen what is happening there with your own eyes. The chief of the joint staff worked there as well. These are specialists. For example, when it was proposed to send a CSTO mission there, I thought: do we have more experienced people than Zas here, in Belarus? Will they figure it out better? It is not because I want to praise you. You are involved in this process, and you see what is happening there. So, observe and make reports! Why should other observers from Belarus, Russia and elsewhere be sent there? What is the need for all of them to stay near Russia?”
Aleksandr Lukashenko drew attention to the logic of the development of events, “The war is over, and it is clear how it ended. The parties have decided that they need an intermediary, roughly speaking. This is normal, this is a classical situation. Naturally, this is Russia. They addressed Russia, and Russia sent hundreds of people there. We remember how planes were going there. Russian border guards, as Putin said, are along all sections of the border: near Turkey, Iran, between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and so on. What else is needed? Let them work in this direction. I knowingly said that a certain game is in full swing. I understand what sort of game it is. Why has the European Union been involved there? Why is the OSCE being dragged there? The reason is clear. What will they do there if there is already an intermediary there? The CSTO is also being attempted to get involved, as if there is nothing else to do.”
The Head of State explained why the issue is so acute for him. Aleksandr Lukashenko said that he focused on it a few years ago, when Belarus chaired the CSTO. That process was not much covered by the media.
“I went to Ilham [Aliyev], and we talked. We had a friendly conversation. I addressed him, jokingly: ‘Ilham Geydarovich, Armenia needs to be helped, if you reach an agreement’,” the President noted, adding it was about several Azerbaijani districts which, as recognised by both sides of the conflict, were captured by Armenia. “Armenians recognised that ‘it is not our land, it is Azerbaijani’, except Karabakh. So, bring it back. If then – when I proposed to do this – those areas had been returned, then there would have been no war. Ilham would not, roughly speaking, have a motivation to start that war. Well, you asked for the territories, and they were given back. The status of Karabakh remained, and the issue could then be solved in a calm mode. But neither Serzh Sargsyan, nor Nikol Pashinyan agreed then. I raised that issue twice, and I then told Ilham: ‘Listen, come to an agreement, Armenia should be somehow helped – so that people can see that you have reconciled, and so on’."
The Head of State recalled that there was a favourable situation in the hydrocarbon market then, and Baku had great opportunities for economic co-operation development. Aleksandr Lukashenko directly asked Ilham Aliyev how much Azerbaijan was ready to invest in the Armenian economy, “He said at least 5bn and laughed. Most importantly, pipelines were being built then, and they were laid around Armenia, but Ilham offered those gas and oil pipelines to go through Armenia. He said: ‘Why should I go around to Georgia? I will go through Armenia. This is beneficial for us: to Turkey, and beyond’. Was it profitable? It was profitable... No! What happened? The President of Azerbaijan was driven into a corner, he had no other solution but a military one. It was impossible to waste time: more than a million refugees created tension. That's the point. Being an experienced politician, I have faced this. What is the need to play games now? It is now necessary to finally make peace, if an agreement has been reached.”
The President summarised his point of view on the situation, “As I have been informed, they are dividing this border somewhere in the mountains. Listen, what mountains? Make an agreement, so that there is free passage to Nakhichevan. It seems an issue with Nagorno-Karabakh has been settled, and Russia is there – overseeing this process. What is the need to kill each other now? Almost 300 people have been killed, and there are still talks about something. It is necessary to calm down and negotiate. That's where my position comes from: from there, from distant times – more than ten years ago. That is why I react so harshly to it. This conflict must be ended. God forbid we will incite a conflict on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border. This is also unacceptable. It is necessary to put an end to it. This is not good that we cannot stop these conflicts within the CSTO framework.”
