InternationalExpert suggests two options to neutralize Azerbaijan’s war threat
Masis Mayilian: Either NKR’s recognition or Armenian military build-up
Published: Wednesday March 17, 2010
Masis Mayilian. Armenian Reporter
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Munich, - There are two ways to neutralize Azerbaijan's threat of another war over Karabakh: one is to step up Armenia's own military build-up and another is to win international recognition for the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, NKR's former deputy foreign minister Masis Mayilian told Novosti-Armenia news agency in a March 15 interview.
Mr. Mayilian said that the second approach - international recognition that brings Nagorno Karabakh under an "international security umbrella" - is a preferred option since it would preclude further militarization of an already heavily armed part of the world.
Former diplomat who now heads the non-governmental Council on Foreign Relations and Security Issues based in Stepanakert argued that recurring Azerbaijani threats should not be ignored.
According to recent reports from Karabakh, there has been a marked escalation in cease-fire violations - mostly machine gun and sniper fire - along the Armenian-Azerbaijani Line of Contact.
Mr. Mayilian also echoed a warning first made by NKR's President Bako Sahakian that if faced with renewed aggression Armenian forces would counter-attack and take the war deep inside Azerbaijan.
"Should fighting resume, no place in Azerbaijan will be safe," Mr. Mayilian said hinting at new air and missile military capabilities both sides have acquired in recent years.
Mr. Mayilian also argued that because the Nagorno Karabakh Republic was not internationally recognized in 1991, Azerbaijan took that as a "carte blanche" and tried to impose its control over Karabakh by force.
"The international community needs to help Azerbaijan to dispel any such illusions" going forward by recognizing Nagorno Karabakh's effective independence, Mr. Mayilian concluded.
