On May 4 Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mamedyarov once again explained the stall in the peace process on Karabakh with the aggressive stance of Armenia. According to the Public Television of Turkey, he accused Armenia for prolonging the settlement of the conflict. He said that Armenia should be interested in settling the Karabakh conflict as soon as possible and called upon the Western states to convince Armenia to be more constructive.
The inconsistence of the Azerbaijani foreign policy is well known. Now and then official Baku demands the Minsk Group to be disbanded and threatens to restart the war in Karabakh. Although this time Mamedyarov avoided warlike statements, his anxiety about Armenia’s interests sounded rather challenging.
However challenging Mamedyarov’s statements be, the Western statements are not likely to swallow the bait. In case Azerbaijan fulfills its warlike threats and unleashes a new war against Armenia and Karabakh, the West shall consider it not only as an attempt to ruin the fragile stability of the region, but also as an attempt to take over the initiative in Karabakh process.
It is obvious that in case of a new war in South Caucasus the prospects of the greater states of the world shall be ruined, and Azerbaijan shall be punished for that. If the West leaves unattended the warlike statements of Azerbaijani officials, it means they prefer to neglect them and not to emphasize them, preserving the stability in South Caucasus, where each of the greater states pursues vital interests.
By the way, the foreign minister of Azerbaijan Mamedyarov with his accusations against Armenia tried to answer the April 30statement of Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, which read as follows, "I think we made a long way in the settlement process of the Karabakh conflict. There is a project and there are the proposals suggested by the OSCE Minsk Group. They are the result of a long work and we are ready to continue the process basing upon the suggestions. But our readiness is not enough, we still need the willingness of the Azerbaijani side".
By h. Chaqrian of Azg, translated by A.M.