On February 26, 1992, with the active support and participation of the 366th Russian Regiment, the foundation was laid for the military and psychological defeat of Azerbaijan. Genocide was committed in Khojaly. On the night of February 25-26, Russian soldiers, along with Armenians, killed the residents of Khojaly. This regiment supplied Armenian militants with weapons and ammunition. Under Yeltsin, Russia carried out a bloody plan to destroy Azerbaijan. Participants in this plan included Serzh Sargsyan, Robert Kocharyan, Seyran Ohanyan, Zori Balayan, Bako Sahakyan, Arkady Tadevosyan, Yuri Khachatryan, Vitaly Balasanyan, Samvel Babayan, and others. Some of them are now under investigation in Baku.
The goal was to intimidate Azerbaijan and force the local population to leave Karabakh. It was not merely a policy of territorial capture but also a religious and national war against our country. At the time, neither the Russians nor the Armenians hid this. Hence, they committed the gravest war crime to frighten and annihilate us.
Later, Serzh Sargsyan admitted to this. In 2000, when he was the Minister of Defense, he told the renowned British journalist, and now a staff member at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, Thomas de Waal, that Armenians committed the massacre in Khojaly to “break the stereotype” that Armenians couldn’t harm women, children, and the elderly. To make Azerbaijanis understand that this was no joke. Our country, as a people, laid the foundation of all its defeats and collapses in Khojaly. We lost the war on the night of February 26, 1992. We lost Karabakh on that unfortunate night.
Now the Russians have left Azerbaijan from Khojaly. It seems Vladimir Putin is concluding a 300-year chapter of Russian presence in the Caucasus. Will the boot of a Russian soldier never again step on Azerbaijani soil? Is this the final departure? I hope so.
Yesterday, June 12, the Azerbaijani flag was raised at the Khojaly airport. The flag, lowered 32 years ago in Khojaly, once again began to flutter in its rightful place.
Azerbaijan is entering a new, more serious phase. We have seen off the unwanted “guests” and must now look to the future with greater confidence and security.
Clearly, we are left face-to-face with Armenia. But this time, we stand face-to-face not for war, but for peace. The pressure on Pashinyan is aimed at preventing him from making peace with Azerbaijan. But this is a process that neither a priest nor a church can stop. Pashinyan thinks realistically. He is trying to seize a historic opportunity and solve the problem fundamentally. He has chosen the path of reconciliation with Azerbaijan and Turkey to save his country from destruction. Currently, the main obstacle to signing a peace treaty is the Armenian constitution. This document enshrines territorial claims against Azerbaijan and Turkey. Additionally, Armenia also falsely accuses Turkey of genocide. Until these issues are resolved, Azerbaijan considers signing a peace agreement impossible. President Ilham Aliyev has clearly and decisively stated this. He said that without amending the constitution, peace with Armenia is impossible.
However, the primary goal now is also the opening of the Zangezur Corridor. Recently, warm messages have been coming from Yerevan on this topic. These messages are sometimes confusing, sometimes reminiscent of tricks. Indeed, in this matter, Armenia is acting in its own interests. Its unfavorable situation also plays a significant role. The main reason prompting Armenia to discuss the corridor is problems on the Georgian route. Armenians want to achieve the opening of the corridor for transporting oil from Azerbaijan and grain from Turkey.
Pashinyan has limited room for maneuver. In the current situation, if he announces a decision to hold a referendum to amend the constitution and accepts the opening of the Zangezur Corridor on these terms, it could cause chaos. As they say, he is gradually leading his people to this stage. There will be more to come. The mission of the priest Bagrat will end, and we will witness more serious events.
Discussion about the visit of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James O’Brien to Armenia began at the end of last week. After meeting with Armenian officials in Yerevan, Mr. O’Brien gave an interview to Radio Liberty. His interview can be seen as presenting a grand roadmap from Central Asia to the Caucasus, from the Middle East to Europe.
Let’s list a few of his key thoughts: “I think both sides say that they’re committed to peace. It’s a momentous agreement… In our [U.S.] view, there’s a once-in-a-generation – maybe several generations – opportunity to build a trade route from Central Asia across to the Mediterranean. That can come only if there is peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
O’Brien’s statement on the day Russia left Karabakh is very symbolic. On the day the last Russian soldier left Azerbaijan and our flag once again flew over the Khojaly airport, America effectively announced the opening of the Zangezur Corridor.
This corridor is a gateway to a new world order, being built through Azerbaijan. It can also be considered a gateway to fortune, chance, and opportunity for Azerbaijan.
The American official’s statement and his proposal coincided with another sensational Western plan for Azerbaijan. According to Bloomberg, there is a discussion about the possibility of transporting Azerbaijani gas to Europe through Russian pipelines in Ukraine. Note that in all the megaprojects of the world powers – from China to the USA – Azerbaijan is at the center. All plans and balances are built through our country. This is the essence of the liberation of Karabakh.
Azer Aykhan
Translated from globalinfo.az
