Ready For Peace In Nagorno-Karabakh?

Annexation of Nagorno Karabakh, the buffer (security) zone and Nakhichevan to Armenia is in the best interests of both Armenia and Azerbaijan. After that, negotiations should begin between Armenia and Azerbaijan concerning a timetable about the evacuation of Kirovabad and its annexation to Armenia.

I have no intention to have a any discussion with the author of previous comment, because it is useless to argue with people who have no logic and are not intelligent enough to be considered a counterpart in a civilised discussion.
Simply, I want to express my gratitude to RFE/RL for leting individuals like "Peter Smith" to present their wierd "valuable ideas" that openly demonstrate the insane expansionist dreams of Armenian nationalist occupants (They resemble a kid that has grabbed a toy and is asked to return, reply: "Its mine, because I want it and I will not return it!"). Please note that I do not apply my critisizm to all Armenians - there wise people like the young lady in the posted video interview from Yerevan.
Thanks again and best regards.

Nasser, the mis-informed person in this case is yourself. If you ever studied the NK conflict in detail, having read all points of view (i.e. Armenian, Azeri and independent), you would have noticed that Armenians of Karabakh were ready to concede the idea of independence or re-unification with Armenia. However, the Azeri responses in Baku and Sumgait where Armenians were subjected to pogroms, humiliation made it impossible for Armenians to live under Azeri rule. Your claims of Armenian expansionism are unfounded. Armenia is not interested in expansionism but security for its population who have experienced one Genocide too many at the hands of Turkic people such as yourself.

If anyone wonders who is acting like a child (i.e. Armenia or Azerbaijan) regarding the NKR conflict resolution process, the answer is clear. It is only Azerbaijan who is rattling its saber and threatening war. If Azeri leadership had any intelligence, they would have realized that, as Churchill once said, when you embark on the wave of war, you are no longer the master of your destiny. You are at the mercy of faith. Hence, Azerbaijan can play its oil hand and threaten war, but their $2.5 billion military budget does not guarantee them victory. Even if they win Karabakh back, the conflict will still be unresolved. The U.S. defeated Saddam's Iraqi army, but has been in a quagmire ever since, militarily, morally, and financially. Resort to a peaceful compromise and save your petro dollars to build your nation or buy more flowers for Heydar Aliev's birthday next year instead of wasting it on war. Note: Azerbaijan spent $15 Million this past year to buy flower to commemorate Heydar Aliev's birthday when the majority of Azeris live in abject poverty. A large portion of Armenians live in poverty but consider the odds against Armenia; land locked, surrounded by unfriendly neighbours and resource poor. What is Azerbaijan's excuse?

Thanks for this, RFERL. More vox pop like this would be welcome.

RD, were is your logic? Do you really belive in what you are writing? If yes, I am realy sorry for you. We have enough money for flowers and for rebuilding infrastructure and ofcourse for strengthening our army. If you have a neighbor like Armenia you will need to have a strong army. Otherwise, you will also lose your land. You pretend that you are well educated in history of this conflict. But I have a serious doubt. Your knowledge is missing a very important part - the first pogroms started in Karabakh and Armenia. And these pogroms created a huge number of Azerbaijani refugees (more than 300,000 people) from Armenia. Events in Sumgait were just a response. Buy the way one of the arrested persons in Sumgait was an Armenian with a name Grigorian who raped and then killed an Armenian woman. During Baku events there was 11000 internal forces troops of Soviet Unient patrolling Baku streets and they had an order from Moscow not to interfere in events - how it sounds?. Don't tell me that you are not aware of this facts. If you do not know, then my advice is to "read the book from the beginning not from the middle".
Armenia is not fully isolated. If you look on a map you can easily see that they have a passage through Georgia which is not in a conflict with Armenia.
Regarding your comments about myself... Well, it seems you are very agressive person, then in my return, I can say that if there will be a war, maybe we will have a chance to meet. I promise to visit you in a POW camp to assure that are treated well... (joking). Hope there will be no war and the conflict will be solved by means of dyplomacy.

Nasser, you have no idea who I am and hence your comments regarding me being aggressive are simply conjecture. I am peace loving and no matter how I feel about Azeris, just like the mothers of the war memorial in Stepanakert who lost their sons, brothers, sisters and husbands in the war, I do not want war, I do not want harm to Armenians and I do not want harm to Azeris. I hope all parties live in peace. However, I only see saber rattling coming from Azerbaijan. This is not my opinion. War rhetoric has only come from Azeri leadership over the past several years. Every time Ilham Aliev delivers a speech somewhere, he always states how Azerbaijan will not overlook a military solution to the NKR conflict. Hardly a formula to building trust, cooperation, stability and peace in the region. Ilham Aliev is obviously emboldened with Azerbaijan's petro dollars. You, as an Azeri citizen, demand a peaceful resolution to the conflict from your leadership. You may be able to afford money to buy flowers for your dead beloved leader's birthday, build your military and build your infrastructure, but you can not afford war and its consequences. Paul Collier has calculated that a typical war will cost a country over $64 Billion dollars in expenditures, economic losses etc. Money better used to bring 60% of Azerbaijan's population out of abject poverty.

RD
I apreciate your peaceful intentions, but your one sided simpatthy to only Armenians prooves that you have been brainwashed. Agree that trust & stability in the region can be achieved after the land is returned to the owner by peace talks. What you suggest Azerbaijan has to do if the land is not returned by negotiations?

Armenia is state-aggresor,this is why Azerbaijan have right to defence itself with military way, if diplomatic could not give positive result.
I am peaceful man,and against war, but this war started not Azerbaijanians,but Armeians. Realesing own land -right all states. ""International Law""

Nick, I can see you are a confused and mis-informed. The war did not start with Armenian aggression. The war started after Sumgait and Baku pogroms against Armenians. Armenians of NKR, after more than 70 years of Azeri rule, where they were treated as second class citizens, peacefully asked for re-unification with Armenia. Joseph Stalin gave NKR, which was largely inhabited by Armenians, to Azerbaijan. The reasons behind Stalin's actions are esoteric but an educated guess points to Staling trying to placate Turkey and Turkic people in addition to ensuring ethnic groups depend on Moscow for protection. Azerbaijan's response towards its Armenian population was brutal. Armenians were thrown outside their balconies and public buses and either burnt or beaten to death. Azerbaijan then continued by sending its army to NKR to brutally suppress demonstrations by Armenians. That is what started hostilities. Even writers who are biased sympathetic to Azerbaijan realize how hostilities started and see Azerbaijan as the initiator of brutality against its citizens. So, get your head out of your back side and study the chain of events of the NKR conflict in detail and stop embarassing yourself by demonstrating how you are brain washed by Azeri propaganda.