Friday, June 26 2020 20:51

ArmInfo. Armenia's Ambassador to  US Varuzhan Nersesyan  touched upon Azerbaijan's anti-Armenian policy  in his article published in ''National Interests''.  As the press  service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry informs, the Ambassador in  particularly stated: 

''We also face an even more immediate danger: military aggression  from our neighbor, Azerbaijan, which sees Armenia's democratic  transformation as a threat rather than a model and has been posturing  to wage a war on Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.  Azerbaijan's defense  ministry recently threatened to take "measures that will be far more  destructive than those taken in 2015, 2016, and 2018" and that "the  enemy will suffer extensive losses" because "the only language to  speak with the enemy is the language of force.

Even as the UN secretary-general has pleaded for a global cessation  of hostilities amidst this unprecedented health crisis, Azerbaijan  has chosen to escalate its war rhetoric against Armenia and  Nagorno-Karabakh or Artsakh, which declared its independence in 1991  amid the disintegration of the Soviet Union and successfully defended  it from a military aggression of Azerbaijan.  

In the latest evidence of belligerence, our neighbor held large-scale  military exercises just last month in the midst of the pandemic.  These actions proved alarming enough to lead a bipartisan group of  members of Congress to condemn these actions as "dangerous" and  "reckless." It seems that the Aliyev regime, so used to bullying and  menacing its own citizens with no regard to their basic rights,  thinks that it can intimidate Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh as well.   

By contrast, Armenia remains firmly committed to the peace process  even as it engages in an urgent nationwide fight against the  pandemic. It has sought to revitalize the process by urging the  return of Nagorno-Karabakh to the negotiating table-a role it already  once held in the mid-1990s. Nagorno-Karabakh's presence in  negotiations was critical in enabling the ceasefire established in,  and held since 1994, and will be critical today in converting it to a  lasting peace.    Regrettably, anti-Armenian hate speech, coupled with warmongering and  military provocations, have become tools in the hands of Azerbaijan's  leadership to distract its own peoples' attention from worsening  domestic problems. Such a position poses a threat not only to Artsakh  and Armenia but to regional peace and security.  

For almost three decades, the people of Artsakh have built their own  democracy through fair and free elections, and pursued economic,  social, and cultural development despite the constant threat of war.  They understand that security and democracy are interconnected and  that democratic societies are best positioned to peacefully resolve  conflicts. Since proclaiming independence Artsakh has conducted six  presidential and seven parliamentary elections, including a recent  one that produced newly elected president and parliament.  

Yet Azerbaijan rejects talking to representatives of Artsakh lest it  legitimizes their rights.  The international community does not have  to be held hostage to one country's intransigence and should engage  with Nagorno-Karabakh, whether by supporting their democracy,  providing international assistance to fight the coronavirus, or other  challenges. After all, pandemics do not hold political preferences  and human rights and democracies are not conditional upon the  international status of the entity. 

Our country can navigate through the storm of the coronavirus,  protect our democracy, and defend ourselves, as well as the people of  Artsakh against Azerbaijan's threats. The sooner our neighbor  realizes that the key to the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh  conflict lies in the non-use of force and negotiations with  Nagorno-Karabakh, the closer that resolution will be.  As we strive  to bring forth that day, we encourage Azerbaijan to focus on the real  needs of their people and the common threat that the region faces  today-containing the spread of the coronavirus and its negative  ?social and economic impact''.