Orkhan Sattarov, the head of the European Bureau of Vestnik Kavkaza
According to information from a German parliamentary source, the communist party Die Linke has requested a detailed report on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the role of Germany in the process from the German federal government.
The faction’s request stresses that according to resolutions of the UN SC (822, 853, 874, 884), the UN General Assembly (62/243), the Council of Europe, and other international organizations, Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan. The request specially notes that the seven occupied regions near Nagorno-Karabakh were populated by Azerbaijanis before the war.
Die Linke points out the particular role of Moscow in the process of settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, as Russia supports intensive relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan. “Russia has significantly developed economic and political ties with Azerbaijan. Both sides cooperate in the sphere of joint preservation of borders and prevention of penetration of armed militants from abroad to Dagestan,” the request says.
“Azerbaijan joined the Nonaligned Movement in 2011. Unlike Georgia, it doesn’t find membership in NATO interesting. In this context Russia began to make more active efforts to find a balance between the interests of the conflicting sides and settlement of the conflict within international law,” Die Linke thinks. As an example of Moscow’s special status and its influence on the conflicting sides, German MPs speak about tension on the front line between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops in August: “A trilateral meeting of the presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, which was initiated by the Russian side, was aimed at stabilization in the front line and de-escalation of further violence.” Considering these facts, the German communists are asking the German government how Berlin, being a member of the Minsk Group, supports peaceful efforts of Russia in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Die Linke voiced 40 questions and sub-items in the letter, which are connected with settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Among others, German communists are interested in final results of an investigation of the murder of an Azerbaijani boy Fariz Badalov by an Armenian shooter on March 8th, 2011, in the village of Orta Garvand near the front line. Moreover, the request touches on illegal settlement of people in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, attempts to open an airport in Nagorno-Karabakh, and direct financial support of the unrecognized Karabakh regime by the U.S.
According to German laws, the government is obliged to respond to the parliamentary request within 14 days. However, considering the broad character of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, Die Linke agreed to prolong the period of its processing. Vestnik Kavkaza will inform its readers on the response of the German government to the request.
