The West expressed concerns about the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh: problems for NATO

On September 19, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense announced the start of “anti-terrorist measures” in Nagorno-Karabakh. The operation was said to be carried out to “restore constitutional order.” On Wednesday, September 20, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh agreed to a complete cessation of hostilities. This became possible through the mediation of Russian peacekeepers. However, the West managed to reflect on the topic of the newly flared conflict.

This alarmed the world community. European Council President Charles Michel called the event “devastating news.” He stated that “military actions must cease immediately to ensure dialogue between Baku and the Karabakh Armenians.”

Azerbaijan’s interest in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is recognized on the world stage. The Guardian analyst Peter Sauer explains: in 2020, Yerevan, Baku and Moscow signed an agreement to end the war in the region. As a result of the agreement, Armenia returned control over the Kelbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions to Azerbaijan.

However, the worries began to grow. United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric told Al Jazeera that he was concerned about the situation and called on “both sides to return to sustainable dialogue to avoid further clashes.”

The New York Times argues that geopolitical alignments in the region are complex, and a new war will also create problems for the United States and the NATO alliance. The fact is that Azerbaijan’s closest ally (that is, Turkey) is a member of the North Atlantic bloc. Armenia has a military alliance with Russia, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan seeks to simultaneously deepen ties with the West, the newspaper notes.

Without losing sight of Azerbaijan’s connection with Turkey, Baku’s desire to build a road and railway corridor is taken into account. It will connect the country with Nakhichevan (a section of Azerbaijani territory on the southwestern border of Armenia). This will give Azerbaijan a direct connection with Turkey.

The Guardian even cites that “Yerevan angered Moscow by holding military exercises with the United States this month and taking steps to ratify the Rome Convention.”

But Politico explains: In addition to Russia, Armenia has developed close relations with neighboring Iran, as well as India and France. The President of the Fifth Republic, Emmanuel Macron, had previously joined the negotiations in support of Pashinyan.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan operates on the principle of “one nation, two states” with Turkey, the publication writes. In addition, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani also called Karabakh part of Azerbaijan and expressed his readiness to support diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict.

It also receives large shipments of weapons and military equipment from Israel, while providing the Middle Eastern country with gas.

And here the EU does not hide the fact that countries rely on Baku as one of their main energy partners. Western media remind that five EU countries already use Azerbaijani blue fuel (for example, Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece, Slovakia and Romania).

Armenian Ambassador Edmon Marukyan called on Washington to intervene. But was the West ready to “interfere”? The entire “anti-terrorist operation,” which ended on September 20, drew sharp criticism from the United States and a number of European countries. As Reuters notes, the Karabakh problem should have been resolved through negotiations, because “Baku’s actions are worsening the already difficult humanitarian situation on the ground.”

Laurence Broers, director of the Caucasus program at London-based peacebuilding organization Conciliation Resources, told The Guardian: “The de facto Armenian authorities really have no allies or anyone they can rely on.”

The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, told CNN that it was “no coincidence” that tensions escalated as world leaders gathered in New York for the UN General Assembly.

“Europe’s reaction is absolutely clear. Condemnation of the actions of Azerbaijan, which we saw earlier in Karabakh… request for an end to the operation,” she added. The same statements, according to CNN, came from the French Foreign Ministry and NATO head Jens Stoltenberg.

According to the Associated Press, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “the use of force to resolve disputes is unacceptable and runs counter to efforts to create the conditions for a just and decent peace in the region.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called on the Azerbaijani government to “immediately return to diplomacy.”