Opinion: Azerbaijan's Unyielding Struggle for Sovereignty in Karabakh

Tension has risen again in Karabakh, one of the bleeding wounds of both Azerbaijan and the Turkic world for more than a hundred years. The "Demir Yumruq ameliorate", or "second Karabakh war", initiated by Azerbaijan in 2020 to ensure full sovereignty over the lands it legally owned, resulted in a decisive Azerbaijani victory. The result in Karabakh, which has become Azerbaijan's biggest national issue in the last century, was met with great joy and pride in Turkey as well as unprecedented pride in the Azerbaijani people.

Violation of the Triple Declaration

The Republic of Armenia, which declared its acceptance of defeat both to the parties to the war and the world public opinion, has not fulfilled its legal responsibilities despite the three years that have passed and continued to deploy its occupation forces in various regions of Karabakh. According to AA, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence announced that systematic shelling and attacks were carried out by the occupying Armenian forces on the positions of the Azerbaijani army, mine-laying activities continued by the Armenian armed forces, and reinforcements with new personnel, armoured vehicles and artillery equipment were advancing into Azerbaijani territory.

In the statement, it was recalled that intelligence activities against Azerbaijani forces increased, in particular, Azerbaijani Turkish civilians and policemen were killed as a result of the explosion of Armenian mines laid in the Khojavent province. On 10 November 2020, it officially announced the launch of anti-terrorist operations against the Armenian forces, which flagrantly violated the provisions of the signed trilateral declaration, to restore the constitutional structure in Karabakh.

Emphasis on neutrality

Including the 2020 second Karabakh war, the statement of Russia, which has always been one of the actors in the region, was not delayed. According to AA, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mariya Zakharova stated that Moscow is concerned about the sudden escalation of the situation in Karabakh. "The Russian side persistently calls on the parties to the conflict to stop the bloodshed, to quickly cease military actions, to return to the path of political and diplomatic settlement," Zakharova said in the statement, emphasising Russia's neutrality and declaring that it would not intervene... It was repeatedly reflected in the press that the Pashinyan government, which could not find the support it was looking for from Russia during the war, and Putin were not on good terms.

It seems unlikely that the Armenian armed forces, with their weak, untrained, low-motivated units and outdated inventory, will be able to resist for a long time without a support element in the region. The Azerbaijani Armed Forces, with which they will probably engage in hot conflict in the coming days, continued intensive training after the war and rapidly improved its inventory, feasibility and intelligence reports on the region. However, the forces, which are proud of restoring Karabakh, their "century-old bleeding wound", to its independence and freedom, also have psychological superiority with their high motivation.

The Armenian occupation of Karabakh, which is recognised by all parties and world states as legally and de facto belonging to Azerbaijan, will be forced to withdraw to its own borders before the conflict escalates too much. And Azerbaijan, again victorious in its just cause, will unconditionally establish its national sovereignty and remind all the nations of the world of the words of the Azerbaijani intellectual Mehmet Emin Resulzade, who is also of great importance in the political life of Turkey, which has become the slogan of Azerbaijan's struggle for independence: "Once raised, the flag will never fall again!"