The price of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan cannot be ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. Washington Examiner

The American Washington Examiner magazine published an article entitled "Ethnic cleansing cannot be the price of a stable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan", emphasizing that the old Armenian state of Nagorno-Karabakh, transferred to Azerbaijan by the leader of the USSR Joseph Stalin, has great historical importance, because "it is the birthplace of the democratic movement." ".

Article writer, political analyst Michael Rubin reminds that the democratic movement that started the collapse of the Soviet Union started from Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno Karabakh, writes tert.am.

"When the Soviet Union collapsed, the Armenian residents of the region asserted their constitutional right to autonomy first through mediation and then through a referendum. Azerbaijan rejected that regional autonomy, which it attempted to crush by brute force, but in vain. The Azerbaijani army was pushed back, and Nagorno-Karabakh enjoyed nearly three decades of true parliamentary democracy in a region where democracy, at least until 2018, was absent or unstable. The self-government of Nagorno-Karabakh ended on September 19, 2023, when Azerbaijani troops invaded the region, destroying one of the oldest Christian communities in the world," the author writes.

He emphasizes that the Azerbaijani invasion took place just four days after the US acting assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, Yuri Kim, assured the senators that "the United States will not tolerate any attempt at ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh."

"He lied, but he was not alone in that matter. Even as Aliyev humiliated US envoys, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken kept aid and military equipment flowing to Baku. Freedom House reported this week that "Azerbaijan's documented actions meet the criteria for ethnic cleansing." So why are Blinken, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and USAID Administrator Samantha Power ambivalent about genocide? There is no doubt. The US decision to calm Azerbaijan comes from above," the analyst notes.

In this context, Rubin reminds that on May 4, the US ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mark Libby, stated that he saw no reason to go to Shushi. The author surmises that someone in Washington took note of Libby's revolting move, because two days later the ambassador not only visited Shushi, but omitted any mention of ethnic cleansing and the destruction of churches and Christian monuments in his speech, saying instead that is impressed.

"And it is not only the Ministry of State that shows respect to Aliyev. On June 26, the US European Command congratulated the Azerbaijani military, again not mentioning the videos of rapes, mutilations and executions of captured Armenian soldiers and civilians. "Perhaps President Joe Biden's team believes that all this is worth the price, in which case the USA can reach the conclusion of a final peace treaty, settling the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict forever," the author writes.

According to him, all three of Biden's aides hope that the signing of the contract can increase Biden's rating.