Recently the Russian State University for the Humanities hosted a presentation of the book “Conceptual basics for recovery of the post-conflict territories of Azerbaijan,” and it provoked interest among experts.
The head of RSUH, Yefim Pivovar:
The presentation is held in remarkable days of the 20th anniversary of Azerbaijan’s independence. The topic touched on in the book is relevant, as all conflicts end with peace sooner or later and the next generation has to deal with economic problems.
The director of the Centre of Post-Soviet Research under the Institute of International Research of the Moscow State University of Foreign Affairs, Stanislav Chernyavsky:
It is very useful book, as it contains real implementable suggestions on improving of the post-conflict situation. It is a worthy respond to people, who previously accused Azerbaijan of lack of constructive ideas.
The deputy of the parliament of Azerbaijan, Rasim Musabekov:
I’m a political analyst, I cannot consider economy sphere, I will speak about policy. The book is about resources and terms for rehabilitation of the post-conflict territory, which is occupied by Armenia at the moment. From the political point of view, this work evidences that Azerbaijan doesn’t admit it has lost the territories. We believe we’ll return there and try to estimate how much will it cost and what we should do.
The second moment is a message in favour of peace. It is often said that Azerbaijan enhances military budget and states that territorial integrity will be restored by any means, peaceful or not. Here we see a serious work. It says that about $28 billion will be necessary for recovery of the territory. It is a large sum. Military budget of Azerbaijan is $2 billion. Thus, it is evidence that Azerbaijan is aimed at recovery rather than war.
Further re-integration of Nagorny Karabakh is shown through desire to establish high living standards, which could be motivation for the population of Nagorny Karabakh. In peaceful and secure environment facilities of Azerbaijan can be used for recovery and prosperity of the region. Azerbaijan has money resources: $8 billion of our $20 billion budget is investment share. We invest this sum of money to development of Azerbaijan. If we share $28 billion for 5 years, it will be $5-6 billion per year. Azerbaijan can do it.
Considering that reserves of Azerbaijan are $40 billion, it is a real project, not a fairytale. Unfortunately, the authors of the book do not consider the problem of progress in peaceful settlement. We still hope for it.
VK.
