The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is escalating. German politicians are calling on Azerbaijan to stop the violence – and warning against repeating mistakes.
The Green foreign politician Jürgen Trittin has sharply criticized Azerbaijan for the escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh and is calling on the EU to act. “Azerbaijan’s military escalation against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh is a violation of international law,” Trittin told t-online. Azerbaijan’s government is clearly aiming to destroy a diplomatic solution in advance. Any violence in Nagorno-Karabakh must be “stopped immediately.”
Trittin emphasized that the plight of the people in Nagorno-Karabakh was “devastating even before the attack began because of the Azerbaijani blockade of the Lachin corridor.” The Azerbaijani justification for violence follows a pattern that is frighteningly familiar from current escalations.
“Aliyev must not get away with this behavior,” said Trittin, referring to the Azerbaijani president. The European Union must take action now. “It must not allow Azerbaijan’s dependence on fossil fuels to seduce it into keeping quiet. The mistake in dealing with Russian gas must not be repeated.”
The SPD foreign politician Nils Schmid called on Azerbaijan to end the violence. “It is obvious that Azerbaijan is deliberately using its own military superiority in conjunction with Russia’s dwindling influence in the region to create facts by force,” Schmid told t-online and warned: “Even if Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan under international law, it is not allowed to engage in ethnic cleansing enter through the back door.” Azerbaijan must immediately end the military operation and return to the negotiating table.
“Armenia and Azerbaijan are now in a very critical situation, and that is why it is very clear to us that these acts of war must end immediately,” said Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN general debate in New York. “It’s about returning to the path of diplomacy and trying to find a peaceful, mutually agreed solution.”
Baerbock: “Azerbaijan must stop the shelling immediately”
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) also demanded an immediate end to the military action from Azerbaijan. “Azerbaijan must stop the shelling immediately and return to the negotiating table,” said Baerbock on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. “The crucial thing is to protect the civilian population in Nagorno-Karabakh. This is also the task of the Russian soldiers stationed there.” A lasting peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia can only be achieved at the negotiating table.
Baerbock said the federal government supports the negotiations led by the European Union. “Given today’s escalation, these are more urgent than ever.” The reports from Nagorno-Karabakh are dramatic. In recent weeks there has been a massive effort to ensure humanitarian access to the people there. “There has been small progress here recently. This escalation of violence is now all the worse.” In the past few days in particular, there have been intensive discussions between the EU and USA with Armenia and Azerbaijan on de-escalation. Baku’s promise to refrain from military measures has been broken.
The Left, meanwhile, accused Baerbock of having been watching for months as Azerbaijan’s ruler Aliyev starved the region. “The small democracy of Armenia is apparently being sacrificed so that Europe can continue to receive its natural gas from Azerbaijan,” said party leader Martin Schirdewan. In order to become independent of Russia when it comes to energy imports, they are relying on new partners like Aliyev and are essentially giving him a free hand.
Russia: Were not inaugurated
Russia has also called for an end to the fighting. “We are deeply concerned about the sharp escalation of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. At the same time, she rejected the allegations made in Armenia that Russia was privy to Azerbaijan’s attack plans. The Russian troops stationed there only found out minutes before the military operation began, she said.
Azerbaijan launched a large-scale military operation in the morning to retake the conflict region, which lies on Azerbaijani territory but is predominantly inhabited by Armenians. The military in Baku justified this with Armenia’s alleged violations of the existing ceasefire. The Armenian side rejects these allegations as a fabricated pretext.
Christian Orthodox Armenia and Muslim Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus have been enemies for decades. The biggest point of contention is the affiliation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. In the 1990s, the local population, supported by Yerevan, broke away from Baku. In 2020, Azerbaijan, which was well-equipped thanks to oil and gas revenues, managed to take revenge. The country recaptured large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh in a war.
