The episode of the program "Beyond the News" showed a discrepancy between the aspirations of the Armenian minority in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, and what one of the guests expressed in the episode that can be accepted by Azerbaijan, after the end of the first round of talks to integrate the Armenian minority in the region between its representatives and the Azerbaijani side without announcing an agreement in this regard.

While Dr. Alexander Markarov (Director of the Armenian Chapter of the CIS Institute) stressed that the agreement should include "international security guarantees" that preserve the rights of the Armenian minority, Fuat Shirakov (Deputy Director of the Center for South Caucasus Studies) did not see this as necessary, given that they are enshrined in the Azerbaijani Constitution, legislation and human rights conventions signed by Baku.

During those talks, which are being held in Azerbaijan under Russian auspices, the Armenian side demanded what it called "security guarantees", accusing everyone, including Russia, the West and Armenia, of abandoning them. The Azerbaijani presidency described the round, which ended without results, as having been held in a positive atmosphere and even constructive.

The episode (2023/9/21) of the program "Beyond the News" asked about the most prominent files discussed in the negotiations between the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides on the region, the most prominent obstacles to reaching an agreement on them, the nature of the guarantees demanded by the Armenian side to complete the agreement and Baku's justifications for rejecting those guarantees.

The future of the relationship

Speaking to the program, Markarov pointed out that the first round of talks comes within the framework of negotiations that were not based, as some think, on discussing the independence of the region, but rather the future of the relations of its Armenian population with Baku, which proposes integration, while the Armenian minority seeks full autonomy, which seems to have no chance of reaching it through fighting.

Therefore, the director of the Armenian branch of the CIS Institute believes that the Armenian minority should receive international guarantees that preserve their dignity, in light of "the human rights violations committed by the Government of Azerbaijan, as the rights of Armenians cannot be guaranteed under the authoritarian Baku regime."

In this context, Markarov considered that Azerbaijan's record in the human rights file is not reassuring, despite what they present themselves as a multi-ethnic country, and stresses that the required guarantees are supported by the international community, Russia and Armenia, which is proof - according to his assessment - that the Baku government and its promises and commitments cannot be trusted.

Markarov expressed regret that the Russian peacekeepers were unable to maintain the ceasefire situation, which was violated by Azerbaijani forces and targeted civilians and military personnel, which he said should not be approved without obtaining such international guarantees.

Local actions

On the other hand, Shirakov stresses that what happened was not an all-out war, but local Azeri actions through which terrorist organizations and armed groups fought on internationally recognized territory as part of the territory of Azerbaijan.

He pointed out that the aim of that operation was to remove mines that killed 7 civilians, and the continued refusal of the region's Armenians to engage in direct negotiations agreed upon in the outcome of the confrontations in 2020, as Baku seeks to strengthen the targeted integration plan.

In this context, Shirakov enumerated what he considered the terrorist practices of armed groups over 3 decades, which were supposed to withdraw according to the agreement sponsored by Russia between Azerbaijan and Armenia, but the latter then denied that it had military forces in the region, before admitting yesterday that there are forces that will be withdrawn.

The Deputy Director of the Center for South Caucasus Studies denied the existence of any abuses against the Armenian minority, stressing that Azerbaijan is a multi-ethnic country, and that the Jewish and Christian minorities participated in the country's wars voluntarily in defense of their territorial sovereignty, which confirms that there is no discrimination against minorities.

On the guarantees required by the Armenian minority, Chirakov said that Azerbaijan has signed treaties that would preserve human rights, and therefore all the necessary guarantees are available, whether through the constitution and legislation, or through Baku's commitment to those treaties, adding that it is not logical for every country with multi-ethnicity to change its borders according to those ethnicities.