News - Thomas De Waal: Azerbaijan, Russia are blocking international presence in Karabakh

Azerbaijan and Russia are blocking the international presence in Nagorno-Karabakh. UK journalist de Waal, who is also a senior fellow with Carnegie Europe specializing in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus region as well as an expert on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, on Thursday noted this on X—former Twitter.  “Reading both alarming reports of the situation on the ground in Karabakh and Western reaction at UNSC meeting last night a disturbing déjà vu of the beginning of the Bosnia war. (I hope I’m wrong) “From the ground, a first round of talks. Good. But also: no resumption of mass deliveries of food and supplies via Lachin, thousands of Karabakhis displaced from their homes, Azerbaijani soldiers still moving at will. “Not much information from rural areas but credible reports of atrocities such as this one. “At UN session extremely tough language against Azerbaijan from Western officials, US, France and Germany in particular (but not only them) for use of military force. Calls for an international humanitarian mission and presence on the ground.  “Very eloquent from German FM The residents of Nagorno Karabakh deserve to live without fear, without fear of violence, without fear of being forcibly removed from their homes, without fear of being deprived of their language and religion.’ “But I fear the main messages Azerbaijan cares about are those of Turkey, giving full support, and Russia, which seems to want to trade any issues of local Armenian rights for maintaining its own presence “Russia said only ‘the armed confrontation in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated dramatically’ and worried about its (inadequate) PKs. It blamed the EU,  concluded, ‘the region knows no alternative to the role of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.’ “Main conclusion is that Western actors know and say there needs to be some kind of international presence on the ground to protect local Armenians and oversee events but currently Azerbaijan and Russia both blocking it,” de Waal wrote.