The situation is very dangerous, as that conflict could escalate to very large proportions. Russian State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin stated this in an interview given to the “360” television channel, while speaking about the escalation in the zone of the Karabakh conflict.
“Russia, of course, is intervening for the sake of ending the conflict. I mean diplomatic intervention. Our steady aspiration is the cessation of military operations and a return to the ceasefire regime,” Zatulin declared.
According to Zatulin, not only Russia is seeking to help Armenia and Azerbaijan stop the military operations, but also France and the United States. “On the other hand, the actions undertaken in the early morning at the initiative of the Azerbaijani side, which clearly wanted to demonstrate strength and the capacity for revenge, in all likelihood receive support from Turkey,” the politician speculated.
He emphasised that they are trying to build friendly relations with both Azerbaijan and Armenia, but the fact that this conflict began a few days after the speaker of Azerbaijan’s parliament arrived in Russia is further evidence that Azerbaijan was not ashamed on that occasion.
Within one day the military operations took on a large-scale character; there are already victims among the civilian population; all this indicates that Azerbaijan is being supported by Turkey, the Russian deputy assures. In April 2016 something similar to today’s situation took place; at that time Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire regime for the first time since 1994.
“At that time, thanks in part to our efforts, it quickly stopped. Turkey’s intervention is extremely concerning, and we must not allow it under any circumstances,” Zatulin said, recalling that Russia has obligations within the framework of the CSTO, where it is stated that an attack on Armenia, as on other members of the treaty, means an attack on the entire alliance. And Azerbaijan, knowing this, has launched an attack on Karabakh, where Russia does not have such obligations.
“From an internal point of view, this is dangerous for us. 1.5 million Azerbaijanis and 2.5 million Armenians live in our country,” the politician said. “We are against any military solution. This is our position. A peace treaty is possible.”
