Wednesday, December 25 2019 12:37

ArmInfo. The ICG's new report could be ignored if the activities of this expert organization in the field of "studying" and "analyzing" the process of resolving the  Artsakh- Azerbaijani conflict did not have its sad background. A  similar opinion was expressed to ArmInfo by Ambassador Extraordinary  and Plenipotentiary, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh  Arman Melikyan, commenting on the latest report of the International  Crisis Group "Digging out of the Deadlock in Nagorno-Karabakh".

"This background started in 2005, when the first report of the ICG on  this subject was published. We should remember that it was this  report that created the necessary basis for the subsequent drafting  of the deadlock negotiation agenda, called the Madrid Principles. In  their first report, ICG experts thoughtfully and skillfully  manipulated information, fitting the description of the  characteristics of the conflict to the political patterns necessary  for the customers. Experts from Armenia and Azerbaijan, but not from  Artsakh, were also involved. Their participation was intended to  create the impression of a balanced outcome document, however, in the  preparation of the final version of the report, the opinion does not  seem to have been taken into account ",  he said.

According to Melikyan, even cursory reading of the report allows us  to talk about maintaining the style and focus of the first report.  For example, the report says that about 400,000 Azerbaijanis left the  territories currently controlled by the authorities of the Artsakh  Republic during the war, and another 40,000 - "the territory of  Nagorno-Karabakh itself." In addition, hundreds of thousands of  people - Azerbaijanis and Armenians - were forced to leave Armenia  and Azerbaijan, respectively.

Thus, according to his estimates, like it was an afterthought, the  authors of the report emphasize the specific number of Azerbaijanis  who left the war zone as a result of the war unleashed by Azerbaijan  against Artsakh, hiding the number of Armenians expelled from this  country. They are silent that there were more than half a million of  such people and about 400,000 people found shelter in Armenia and  Artsakh.

 "Or, for example, it is said that at the end of the war in  Stepanakert, a government of self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh was  established which positioned itself as independent", although it is  known that the NKR proclaimed its independence before and not after  the outbreak of a full-scale war. I think that if you delve into, you  can find a lot of such frauds and flaws, however delving into this so  scrupulously and cautiously laid smelly heap is simply disgusting,  "Melikyan emphasized.

Thus, the diplomat notes that the ICG is working in the same  direction - the Artsakh people are required to surrender the  territories around the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, to  allow international peacekeeping military contingent to their  territory, and to stop building and settling in the territories to be  surrendered. In exchange for this, Baku, perhaps, will not initiate  claims against Armenia in international judicial instances and will  begin to reflect on what could be the consequences of giving the  Artsakh Armenians the right to self-government.

"Official Yerevan, however, should seriously consider its own further  actions in connection with the publication of the report. Most  likely, the joint meeting of the Security Councils of the RA and the  AR convened on Sunday was intended to somehow coherently respond to  the publication. The statements were announced that rejected the  decisions imposed on us, but, as before, we don't seem to have our  own plan of action in the framework of the political negotiation  process. While there should be one, "Melikyan concluded.

Headquartered in Brussels, the International Crisis Group (ICG) is an  independent, non-profit, multinational organization that brings  together about 80 employees on five continents. The organization  analyzes the situation on the ground and actively advocates for the  prevention and containment of deadly conflicts. Based on the  information and assessments conducted on the ground, the ICG  publishes analytical reports that provide practical recommendations  addressed to key international political decision-makers .