It is good to hear that the Government is still committed to supporting Ukraine in its fight for independence and that the new Defence Secretary is sending more British troops to bolster the weary Ukrainian army. At its heart, Britain’s allegiance is down to a cultural instinct for fairness and supporting the underdog against bullies. So why are we doing nothing about another scandalous ethnic clear-out on the edge of Europe?
Baku is as much a part of Europe as Kiev. It has hosted the 2015 European games, a European Grand Prix and European soccer finals, but the Government there has been allowed to get away with a military assault similar to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh has been contested since the Bolshevik takeover in 1918. Seventy years later, as the Soviet Union collapsed, a bitter war was fought between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, but this did not resolve the issues and after mediation by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe a ceasefire was agreed on 12 May 1994.
The latest conflict intensified partly because the OSCE work, which is co-chaired by France, Russia and the USA, stalled due to the war in Ukraine. This is a clear example of how conflict can spread in a region if the UN Permanent Members are at loggerheads.
It is reported on the BBC that almost 100,000 people have fled from Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan seized the region last week. Armenia, which is considered to be a developing country, cannot cope with the instability this will cause, so the Caucasus tinder-box is likely to be lit again if the European Union and the United Nations does not take effective action.
Baku – On the Edge of Europe
Rupert Wieloch 