Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev speaks at a news conference
CREDIT: AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov
In a first for international politics, the president of Azerbaijan appears to have declared through Twitter the resumption of what had been a dormant conflict with its neighbor Armenia over a plot of territory that both claim as their own.
At stake is the land known as Nagorno-Karabakh, a strip of land located entirely within Azerbaijan’s current borders. The territory, however, boasts a large ethnic Armenian population, a legacy of Josef Stalin’s ‘divide and conquer’ tactics in the Soviet Union. When the USSR collapsed in the early 1990s, the two countries fought a full-fledged war over the land, one that ended in a ceasefire rather than a lasting peace deal. Since then, Nagorono-Karabakkh has been held by Armenian troops and local ethnic Armenian fighters.
CREDIT: Wikimedia
In recent days, the long-simmering tensions in the region have begun to boil over again. Over the weekend, clashes between Azeris and Armenians left at least 15 soldiers dead and the ceasefire that has lasted for twenty years at risk. The upswing in violence led to a number of concerned statements from both Russia and the United States, who together are co-chairs of the Minsk Group that has mediated the conflict. “We are seriously concerned about the recent upsurge in violence along the line of contact,” U.S. co-chair James Warlick said in a tweet. “The ceasefire needs to be respected.”
On Thursday, however, Azeri president Ilham Aliyev took to Twitter to declare firmly that in any conflict, it would be Azerbaijan who prevailed. In a lengthy rant, which at times referred to Armenia solely as “the enemy,” repeatedly hit on the patriotism of the Azeri people and the willingness of the Azerbaijan army to take on Armenia in any renewed conflict. “The whole world recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh as an integral part of Azerbaijan and will never recognize the self-styled Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent entity,” he declared. “The Azerbaijani state will never tolerate a second Armenian state on its territory.”
“Azerbaijani citizens are not pleased with the activity of mediators because the main mission of mediators is to settle the conflict, not to keep it in a frozen state and conduct confidence building measures,” he continued, in a dig at the Minsk Group’s lack of progress to date. “The biggest confidence building measure would be the withdrawal of occupying forces from our lands.” The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which houses the Minsk Group, declined to comment on Aliyev’s statement, as it is “not in the position to comment on statements of the heads of our individual participating States.” Instead, ThinkProgress was pointed to the latest statement from the co-chairs, who “expressed their deep concern” over the escalation and urged a resumption of negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
View selected excerpts from President Alivev’s rant below:
As a result of attacks launched by Armenian occupying forces, our army suffered losses. Several servicemen have become martyrs.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
May Allah rest their souls in peace! However, their blood has been avenged. The Azerbaijani army has dealt a very severe blow to the enemy.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
According to the information available to us, dozens of occupiers have been killed.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
Our territorial integrity will be restored. There are several factors that enable this conclusion. Azerbaijan is getting stronger.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
Nagorno-Karabakh, the occupied territories are our native lands.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
From the perspective of international law, Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
After returning to the currently occupied territories, we will restore all our cities and villages.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
Azerbaijani citizens are not pleased with the activity of mediators because the main mission of mediators is (cont) http://t.co/BxieWS36R8
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
The biggest confidence building measure would be the withdrawal of occupying forces from our lands.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
The Azerbaijani army is showing its strength, which is having an impact on the talks.The enemy is clearly seeing that it can’t cope with us.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
If the Azerbaijani army starts an offensive, the enemy will find itself in a very difficult situation.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
This is known to us, the enemy and the mediators.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
Therefore, I believe that the developments of recent days will prompt mediators to take some action.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
The aggressor state should receive an explicit message that this aggression must be stopped.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
We are not living in peace, we are living in a state of war. Everyone must know this.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
The war is not over. Only the first stage of it is. But the second stage may start too.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
No-one can rule that out. We don’t want war, we want peace. But at the same time, we want our lands back.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
Armenia wants to preserve the status quo. The main wish and essence in the activities of mediators is to prevent a resumption of war.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
We don’t want war either. But unlike them, we want our lands back. We want the lands of our ancestors back.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
Justice and international law support our position. Therefore, the situation of neither peace nor war cannot last any longer.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
We will restore our sovereignty. The flag of Azerbaijan will fly in all the occupied territories, including Shusha and Khankandi.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
Just as we have beaten the Armenians on the political and economic fronts, we are able to defeat them on the battlefield.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
The Armenian barbarians and vandals have razed the city of Agdam to the ground. he ruins of the city of Agdam are clearly visible from here.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
We will restore all of the occupied and destroyed cities. We will return to this land, we live and will live with this idea.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) August 7, 2014
The post The President Of Azerbaijan Just Threatened War Via Twitter Rant appeared first on ThinkProgress.