As you may recall, after the monitoring of the Ministry of Ecology, Ministry of Economy and AzerGold at the mines was disrupted as a result of the irresponsible behavior of the Russian peacekeeping contingent at the very least, or more precisely, as a result of an overt collusion of the Russian peacekeeping command and the separatists, NGO activists organized a protest on the Shusha-Khankendi road. The protesters demanded to see General Volkov.
But instead of a dialogue with the picketers, the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent sent to the picketing site a drunken colonel, which was a blatant act of disrespect. Now Russian military equipment and additional manpower are moving to the site. According to the latest information an APC was rolled out against the picketers. This stands in stark contrast to the “liberalism” demonstrated by the same peacekeepers towards the Armenian separatists.
Meanwhile, the separatists themselves are holding a rally in Khankendi and intend to “break through”, i.e. to clash directly with Azerbaijani protesters. This entails obvious risks. Especially if the Russian peacekeeping forces once again demonstrate their “double standards”, protect the separatists and play out scenarios from the late eighties and early nineties.
The Azerbaijani picketers are still waiting for General Volkov and a meaningful dialogue with the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent. There is still a chance to get out of the situation without sending it into a hopeless tailspin.