Armenia must choose: Either peace and “Caucasus House” or “Iron Fist”
Adil Aliyev, Member of Parliament, Deputy Chairman of the Milli Mejlis
Azerbaijan put an end to Armenian separatism and ensured its territorial integrity. President of Azerbaijan, Commander-in-Chief Mr. Ilham Aliyev addressed two important points in his address to the people on September 20. First, Mr. President said that after the local anti-terrorist activities that put an end to separatism, the ground was created for the signing of a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Secondly, Mr. President emphasized the need to realize the idea of “Caucasus House” against the background of new realities that have arisen in the region after the anti-terrorist measures.
The head of state voiced the idea of “Caucasus House” several times after the 44-day war. Two years ago, in an interview with “CNN-Turk” TV channel, the President of Azerbaijan stated that he was ready to take initial steps to establish tripartite relations between Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia in the South Caucasus. While Georgia supported this idea, Armenia remained loyal to its “traditional” policy and continued provocations instead of peace and cooperation.
In the past, Armenia also prevented the realization of the idea of “Caucasus House” and prioritized its territorial claims against its neighbors. What was Armenia’s profit? Tens of thousands of people died, Khojaly and other massacres were committed against our people and they were finally defeated. After the 44-day war, Mr. Ilham Aliyev has several times suggested to Armenia to sign the peace agreement and to start building peace and cooperation of the 3 countries of the South Caucasus in the region. There is no response from Yerevan.
Mr. President repeated the “Caucasian House” proposal a year after his interview with “CNN-Turk” TV channel. On October 24 last year, during his business trip to the neighboring Republic of Georgia, President Ilham Aliyev returned to the idea of the “Caucasus House” with these words: “We believe that after the end of the Karabakh conflict, the time has come for Azerbaijan and Armenia to sign a peace treaty. If this happens, peace will come to the South Caucasus and, at the same time, opportunities for cooperation will arise. We exchanged views on the start of Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia consultations in Tbilisi. If the Armenian side is ready for it, we are ready for it.” With this statement, the head of state noted the importance of creating a single discussion platform in the trilateral format of Azerbaijan-Georgia-Armenia in terms of ensuring peace and stability in the South Caucasus. The Prime Minister of Georgia, Mr. Irakli Garibashvili, supported the proposal of the President of Azerbaijan.
There is another proposal regarding regional cooperation: 3 (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia) + 3 (Turkey, Russia, Iran). Azerbaijan also supports this idea, but it is difficult to implement the 3+3 format under the current conditions due to the fact that Georgia does not have diplomatic relations with Russia, as well as the circles in Iran have not stopped their statements against the independent policy of Azerbaijan and the Zangezur corridor. It is possible to realize the idea of “Caucasus House” put forward by Mr. President, but for this it is important that Armenia signs a peace agreement with Azerbaijan. In his address to the people, Mr. Ilham Aliyev said that “the day when Azerbaijan and Armenia will settle the issues is not far, a peace agreement will be signed and the countries of the South Caucasus will start working on future cooperation in a tripartite format”, and reminded the need for the countries of the region to start working on the “road map”.
Of course, the South Caucasus is a complex region, wars, territorial claims, losses – all these happened in recent history and will not be forgotten. Despite this, the restoration of tranquility in the region, the establishment of peace, goes through cooperation. They should understand this in Armenia, but still calls for support for separatism and territorial claims are still heard in the streets and squares of Yerevan. The separatism in the territory of Azerbaijan is over, it has been rooted out, it will not be allowed to rise again, they need to understand this.
Azerbaijan has a strong army and modern military equipment, military spending is increasing, all of Karabakh is under our control – this is a reality. The peace agreement proposed by Mr. Ilham Aliyev to Armenia based on 5 principles and the idea of “Caucasus House” is the only way to save Armenia. If the militarist forces in Armenia choose the path of provocation instead of accepting the reality, they will see an “Iron Fist” in front of them, as Mr. President said. The choice is Armenia’s: Either “Caucasus House” or “Iron Fist”…
