Nagorno-Karabakh clash necessitates regional attention to solve crisis

Tehran, Sept 27, IRNA – Once again there was a bloody clash between the armed forces of neighboring countries of Azerbaijan and Armenia, which resulted in damage and loss of lives of both sides. Either country is accusing the other to have started the war. The war is mostly taking place in residential areas – as a result, several civilians have lost their lives in the war and there has been severe damage to public property and homes. The crisis changed into an all-out war in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1988 and went on until 1994. Some 35,000 people were killed and 800,000 were displaced. The crisis reached its peak, both sides started to do ethnic cleansing, which was a cultural and ethnic disaster. Several peace plans have been proposed by foreign players, including European, the US, and Asian ones. But as it turns out, they have not had the desired outcome. But regardless of who has started the clash and which side has been able to impose more damage to the other side, the roots of the dispute partly go back to the time of the USSR. Stalin made people migrate to other places by force. Illogical decisions made by some officials on both sides have also been effective. Of course, covert and overt interference of foreign states has complicated the situation. Hence, the necessity of activation of a mechanism by the regional states is clearly felt to put an end to this age-old dispute. The dispute was originally over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh. In the six-year war, Armenia took control of the region as well as seven counties around it. In May 1994, the two countries accepted a ceasefire, but international efforts of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), aka Minsk Group, have been fruitless so far. Minsk Group have failed to restore peace in the region, which suggests that for some reason, some Western countries are not willing to put an end to the dispute. They definitely have some interest in the region and can save them if the region is facing an ongoing crisis. Any claim of the West, especially the US, for solving the crisis in the region is actually for expanding the security belt around some countries, like Iran and Russia, to monitor their moves from a closer distance, as well as gaining control of the energy and oil reservoirs of the southern Caucasus and the Caspian Sea. Therefore, Western countries establish their presence in the region by keeping the crises going on. Baku and Yerevan are both well-Aware of the fact that the West, especially the US, has never been and will never be trying to solve the dispute. It seems that with a correct understanding of the region, Azerbaijan and Armenia should first put aside their controversies and form a special workgroup to discuss the crisis at a table. And is necessary to enter other players to the negotiations, only regional countries can take the interests of both sides into consideration and stop more damage and loss of lives.