‘It’s Time to Return Karabakh to Azerbaijan’: British MP calls for pressure on Russia
According to ‘Azerbaijan in Focus’, reporting on RFE/RL’s recent interview with Bob Blackman MP, Head of the Azerbaijan All-Party Parliamentary Group in the UK Parliament, it is necessary to increase international pressure on Russia to achieve a final settlement of the Armenian–Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
“But the reality is, obviously, that Russia has a large military base in Armenia, and Russia generally has a great influence over Armenia. Therefore, most of the pressure should be directed towards Russia. This would facilitate the return of Azerbaijani lands. Russia is the guarantor of Armenia. They should exert pressure on Armenia and say that it is time to return the regions back to Azerbaijan.
Bob Blackman also recalled that the United Kingdom is a member of the UN Security Council, is a country that has invested in Azerbaijan through BP and other means, and is a strategic ally, including a century-old friendship with Azerbaijan. He stressed that it should try to influence the UN Security Council.
“It may be that there are forces in the UN Security Council that want the Armenian–Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and this illegal occupation to continue. But we should not be just spectators. We must put pressure on the UN Security Council. I am myself putting pressure on the British government to express its position to the UN Security Council. There is no need for new resolutions – there are resolutions – but now it is necessary to achieve their implementation. The members of the UN Security Council voted for the resolutions themselves and none vetoed them. We must insist on the implementation of these documents.
Bob Blackman added that in the current situation, the prolongation of the conflict would be to the detriment of Armenia:
“Well, clearly, one of the aspects here is that we can push the UN Security Council to speed up the process. We can and must do this. Even, if necessary, the support of the UN General Assembly should be harnessed to play a role in the peace talks. It is very important to undertake these discussions. Armenia’s position on this issue is not very smart. They suffer when they don’t need to. If there is a peace agreement where Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven surrounding regions are returned to Azerbaijan, it will ultimately favour Armenia, because it will open up opportunities for investment and prosperity.”