Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh only deterrent for  Azerbaijan, Human Rights Defender states 

ArmInfo. The Azerbaijani authorities' policy is first of all aimed at new ethnic cleansing in and de-Armenianizing Nagorno-Karabakh, Artsakh Human Rights Defender  Gegham Stepanyan said in an interview with Article 3. He stressed  that Azerbaijan pursued an identical policy in the Soviet period as  well. 

That policy was aimed at forcing Armenians into leaving  Nagorno-Karabakh and at populating it with ethnic Azerbaijanis, he  said. 

"After World War I and after a peace treaty was signed, we could  ensure our security. But the anti- Armenian policy was gaining  momentum in Azerbaijan, spreading to all the areas of life, schools,  with a view to bringing up a generation that would be full of hatred  for Christian Armenians, as the policy has two components - ethnic  and religious. We witnessed that during the 2020 war as well.  Azerbaijanis were killing and torturing captured Armenians,  destroying the Christian heritage. Azerbaijan continued its policy  after the war as well. However, being aware of the fact that  international organizations are informed of their policy, Azerbaijan,  at the presidential level, is claiming the incidents are only  individual," Mr Stepanyan said. Thus, Azerbaijan is trying to  manipulate international organizations, concealing that it is the  Azerbaijani leadership that is ordering the actions. 

Under the circumstances, the Armenian side must present the facts. 

Mr Stepanyan also stated that the Russian peacekeepers are the only  deterrent for Azerbaijan in the context of Nagorno-Karabakh's  security.   

"Tension has been defused now as compared with the previous few days.  But it is not a guarantee against recurrence. The Russian  peacekeepers' presence is the only security guarantee. I am inclined  to think that Azerbaijan could attempt to destabilize the situation  round Nagorno-Karabakh taking advantage of Russia being involved in  the Ukraine conflict," he said. 

Mr Stepanyan also spoke of a grave humanitarian situation in Artsakh  because of the damaged gas main, and the Azerbaijani side has not  allowed repair work to be started for the fourth day.  

Appealing to international agencies, Mr Stepanyan stressed that a  territory's status cannot be an obstacle to the exercise of universal  human rights of the local residents. Artsakh must not be viewed as a  disputed territory, he said. 

"It is the Artsakh residents' rights that must be prioritized. The  global human rights agenda implies universal human rights. And we are  trying to make international organizations hear it. We invited them  to Artsakh both during and after the war. Regrettably, none of them  took a clear stand or visited Artsakh either during or after the  war," Mr Stepanyan said. But it was their duty to dispatch  fact-finding missions, which was never done, he added.