The idea of sending UN peacekeepers to Nagorno-Karabakh is hardly realistic; the Russian peacekeeping contingent is effectively resolving the problems of restoring peace and security in the region. This was stated by Pyotr Ilyichev, Director of the Department of International Organizations of the Russian Foreign Ministry, in an interview with RIA Novosti.
He noted that of the international and foreign organizations, only the International Committee of the Red Cross operates in Nagorno-Karabakh, while UN humanitarian agencies have not received permission from Azerbaijanis and Armenians to enter Nagorno-Karabakh, even to carry out an initial needs assessment mission.
According to Ilyichev, “difficulties arise due to the political impossibility of maintaining an equally distant position with the parties, including the modalities of arrival and departure from the region, accountability, oversight, and the legal basis for structuring humanitarian activities.”
“Under these conditions, there is no progress even on the issue of providing international humanitarian assistance to Nagorno-Karabakh, and the practical implementation of the idea of deploying an international peacekeeping contingent, which would moreover require sanctions from the UN Security Council, is hardly realistic. We proceed from the fact that the Russian peacekeeping contingent is effectively overcoming all the problems of restoring peace and security in Nagorno-Karabakh,” he added.
Furthermore, the Russian diplomat added, peacekeeping missions deployed under a UN Security Council mandate do not always enjoy the trust of host states.
“In some cases, the latter come out in favor of the withdrawal of the ‘Blue Helmets’ due to their low effectiveness. Therefore, the question is not so much who authorized the peacekeeping operation, but rather the presence of good will on the part of both sides of the conflict regarding its cessation and the elimination of its consequences,” Ilyichev said.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the beginning of January that after the end of the mandate of the Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh, a request could follow to the UN Security Council regarding the dispatch of an international peacekeeping contingent to the region. Commenting on the Armenian Prime Minister’s remarks, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said that international peacekeepers could be involved in work in Nagorno-Karabakh only with the consent of all parties to the conflict.
