South Caucasus Press: relevant topics

Author: VK

In Paris, on January 29, a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan took place as part of the OSCE Minsk Group. The article by journalist R. Mirkadyrov was published that day in Azerbaijani "Zerkalo" newspaper under the headline "The geopolitical self-deception of Washington" is dedicated to this event. The author points out that the meeting was held with the participation of the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassadors Igor Popov (Russia), Jacques Faure ( France) and Ian Kelly (USA). In addition, the meeting was attended by Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk.

Further, the author refers to the information by the press service of Foreign Ministry, which said that during the meeting with his Armenian counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov voiced the position of Azerbaijan on Armenia's efforts to implement the illegal flights in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. The minister said that the opening of the airport in Khojaly can become part of a larger plan for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and attempts to carry out illegal operations will now be regarded as a violation of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

Mammadyarov also expressed the serious concern of Baku about the reports discussed in the Armenian press regarding illegal settlement in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, in particular, in the Kalbajar region, by the Syrian Armenians.

Referring planned flights from the airport in Nagorno-Karabakh, the author reports that Azerbaijan considers flights of civil and military aircraft in the airspace of a sovereign Republic of Azerbaijan without the permission of Baku to be unacceptable and in accordance with the rules of international air navigation today announces it a closed space.

The newspaper reminds that the government of Azerbaijan on January 18 issued a decree about the use of the airspace of the Republic, in which there are the regulating issues of airspace in accordance with international standards and norms. Paragraph 4.97 of the document says that in case of violation of air space air forces could be brought to compel the offender to land at the nearest airport. If this requirement is not met, and there is no precise information about the presence of civilians on board, the destruction of the aircraft is allowed.

One of the main conclusions of the author is that the Armenian side, of course, may announce the opening of the airport, but there will be no flights from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh so far - first, because of their lack of legal basis, and second, it is illegal in terms of international standards, journalist says.

Certainly, the author says, if the air defense forces of Azerbaijan destroy the plane with civilians, like the case with the Soviet Union, the whole world will condemn Baku for such actions. Referring to the South Korean aircraft destroyed by the Soviet forces in 1983, the author notes that "in this case, the responsibility for any consequences of this step should be taken by Yerevan, along with Baku. There will be internationally recognized violation of air space of a sovereign state publicly sanctioned at the highest level".

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Armenia's economic newspaper "Business Express" of January 28 published an analytical article by the political observer of IA Regnum Gai Borisov called "EU-Armenia: punishment instead of promoting" dedicated to the difficulties of the republic in relations with the EU.

Anticipating his article with a quote from the pre-election interview by the president of Armenia, where he speaks of the applicable domestic political model, the author also recalls the saying by Sargsyan that the European vector of Armenian politics, military-strategic alliance with Russia and Armenia's membership in the CSTO are not contrary to the trends of the Eurasian integration - these are two complementary processes. However, Borisov says, if until recently Europe strongly encouraged such sentiments of the Armenian government promoting cooperation in the framework of "Eastern Partnership" and promising to promote the movement for democracy in Armenia , now doubts began to arise that EU was determined to see this Transcaucasian country among the "small nation-states" of the Old World.

The author refers to the fact that the head of the PACE observation mission for the upcoming presidential elections in Armenia Karine Uoldset criticized the beginning of the campaign, which became rather an unpleasant surprise for official Yerevan. The columnist recalls that, first, providing assistance to Armenia in the amount of at least 1.5 billion euros, and second, the conclusion of agreements on free trade and association with the EU depend on the assessment of the European observers.

The author also points out that a comprehensive report of the European Centre for Strategic Intelligence and Security (ESISC) on the Armenian-Iranian relations was almost simultaneously published. Such a sharp criticism of the Armenian-Iranian relations has never been heard. This involves both the economic and political cooperation between Yerevan and Tehran, the newspaper reports.

The conclusions of ESISC experts, according to the article's author, allow to speak about the triumph of the most unbridled conspiracy. It turns out, Borisov ironically observes, that Iran and Armenia have developed a secret plan, which includes, among other things, undermining the efforts of the international community to ensure stability in the region and to achieve a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict. The author also notes that the document is biased and one-sided. In his view, such a character of the ESISC report may mean that certain circles in the West are annoyed by the activity of Armenia in various areas of international activity. It is also possible that due to the ongoing crisis in the EU Brussels decided to slow down the process of integration in the framework of the "Eastern Partnership" and to create a "base" that would allow to abandon the promises of financial aid to Yerevan.

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 On January 29, Georgian Times published an interview with director of the Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development Gia Nodia about possible future course of the development of Georgia..

In the interview, he critically assessed the expression of the new Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili at the World Economic Forum that the global rankings of the country on the ease of doing business were exaggerated and far from reality. Nodia believes that these statements are not conducive to investment in the country. He also noted that the statement by Ivanishvili in Yerevan put many supporters of the Prime Minister in a very uncomfortable position, as it is difficult to answer the question how Yerevan may become a model for Georgia in terms of foreign policy orientation and how it can be compatible with the statements and promises of the coalition "Georgian Dream ", the members of which confirmed that they retain the policy of Euro-Atlantic integration.

However, according to the expert, this trend can also be seen without the public statement by Ivanishvili in Yerevan. He does not see any active steps towards European and Euro-Atlantic integration. In practice, this topic is not emphasized in the public rhetoric of the  new government, and there are no initiatives, no activity in this direction.

Speaking of the draft of the proposed constitutional amendments, Nodia believes that they will not work to change the global policy of Georgia. "There are two amendments completely unrelated to each other: the first, in fact, marks the return of the parliament to Tbilisi, though the Constitution should not determine the location of the Parliament. Second is the change of presidential powers, and this is, in the words of the interviewee, an example of very frivolous attitude to the Constitution. By the second amendment the parliamentary majority is trying to solve the problem of current policy - to put pressure on the president and weaken him a few months earlier. "I think that the Constitution should not be changed for such local problems", the expert said.

Referring to the political system of modern Georgia, head of the Institute says that the country has now a mixed system of government, and it is difficult to say whether Georgia will be a parliamentary republic in the future. "We have, in fact, more or less developed political party - this is United National Movement, which is in the opposition, although it is impossible to overestimate its capabilities, but, nevertheless, it is the most mobilized political party.

The coalition "Georgian Dream" is still an association around one person; therefore, it is quite authoritarian. It is hard to imagine what this coalition will represent, if Ivanishvili really fulfills its promise and withdraws from politics. Our weak and unstable political parties cause problems for the full-fledged functioning of the parliamentary system. This does not mean that they should not exist, but with time, the parliamentary system itself will strengthen the political party system", Nodia says.

Replying to the question on the adoption of the amnesty law, the interviewee, on the one hand, said that this is a humane action, but at the same time he expressed concern that more than 3,000 prisoners will be released. There is a danger - he says that such a large-scale amnesty that extends to those who have committed serious crimes, will lead to an increase in crime and the deteriorating security situation for ordinary citizens. But there is much more difficult situation with the political part of the amnesty, when the ruling party declared political prisoners people who are not condemned for political crimes. "In fact", Nodia says, "the Parliament had usurped the functions of the court. There was no public transparency in the process of determining who is a political prisoner and who is not."

Continuing the theme of change of course, the current status of the Geneva talks and their relevance to today's Georgia were touched upon. Speaking of these issues, Nodia admitted that under the Geneva format no one has the illusion that people can expect any significant decision regarding the settlement of the conflicts. The value of the Geneva format, he explains, on the one hand, is that this is the only place where there is an exchange of views and positions. Second, and most important for the Georgian side, is that the conflict between Georgia and Russia is internationalized and the negotiations between the two countries are observed by international mediators. Changing the format will only weaken the international position of Georgia. Commenting on the further statement Ivanishvili in Yerevan that he would make every effort to engage the Abkhaz section of the railway, Nodia said that Georgia should have some concrete, positive results of this. Georgia cannot ignore the new status of Abkhazia. "There is a tangle of unresolved contradictions. It is hard to imagine how the government of Abkhazia, as if we could not assess the level of its real independence, could allow passage of the railway through their territory, which is not formally considered to be controlled by this government. On the other hand, how can the Georgian authorities recognize the control of the Abkhaz government over such a railroad? It's very difficult", the expert concludes.

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January 31 is the 129th anniversary to the birth of the founder of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic Mamed Emin Rasulzadeh. The article in the 525-th newspaper (in Azeri) by the expert Nasimana Yagublu is dedicated to this date. The author writes that it was Rasulzadeh to open the way to freedom and the principles of state government to the people of Azerbaijan on May 28, 1918. The author reports that Rasulzadeh was born in 1884 in the village of Novkhani near Baku. He get the first education in Russian-Muslim school, and then he continued to study in the Baku Technical School. His first literary work "Muhammas" was published in 1903, but later he became known for his political work, and later, widely expanding his political activities, he turned to one of the founders of the social-democratic organization "Gummet". At the age of 24 years Rasulzadeh was forced to leave his homeland because of his political activities and, having returned only after five years, again continued fighting. In 1917, at the first congress of the "Musavat" party, he was elected its chairman and continued to publish political writings imbued with anxiety about the fate of his people. But the main work of his life, the researcher stresses, was created by him in May 1918, along with Fatali Khan Khoyski: this was the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. However, after the arrival of the Red Army and the "Sovietization" of Azerbaijan Rasulzadeh was arrested.

Next, the historian tells of how Rasulzadeh left the USSR in 1922, but in exile, he did not stop his political activities, published newspapers, conducted organizational work among immigrants, during the Second World War was in talks with the Nazis for the salvation of Azerbaijani prisoners from executions and starvation, during the "Cold War" appeared in the Western radio broadcasts criticizing the communist regime. Rasulzadeh died in March 1955 at the age of 71 and, according to the author, died, saying: "Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan!"