Babayan: Artsakh proposes to grant UN Security Council mandate to  Russian peacekeepers and increase their number

ArmInfo. Artsakh proposes to grant  UN Security Council mandate to  Russian peacekeepers and increase their numbers. Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh  David Babayan stated on December 13 at a press conference in Yerevan,  answering a relevant question.

According to him, 1980 peacekeepers along the entire perimeter are  too few to provide full security.  "Secondly, we proposed to give the  peacekeepers an international mandate, preferably from the UN  Security Council. This will give international legitimacy and make it  possible to stop such provocations.  Now the peacekeepers are not  authorized to enforce peace, as was the case in Kosovo and other  places. An international mandate will give a new quality to the  mission , and then maybe the situation would be more stable. There  was a gross violation of the international agreements of November 9,  2020," Babayan said.

According to him, the security of Nagorno-Karabakh will not be  ensured without the Russian peacekeeping mission. "As I said, the  mandate is different from the mandate of the peacekeepers in Kosovo,  Bosnia and elsewhere. They make sure that the parties fulfill their  obligations in a civilized manner. But if one of the parties has  elevated terrorism to the rank of state policy, the peacekeepers find  themselves in a difficult situation. All the road passes through the  territory of Azerbaijan. A crowd comes, including women. If you were  in the place of the peacekeepers, what will you do? That's why we say  that it is necessary to extend the mandate, increase the number of  peacekeepers and give an international mandate," Babayan stressed.

Answering the question whether the peacekeepers can resolve the issue  by force, the minister ruled it out.  "They do not have the authority  to use force, this seemingly small issue is resolved at the state  level. It may seem small to someone, but for us it is a matter of  life and death," David Babayan added.

At the same time, he stressed that those gathered in the Berdzor  corridor are not environmentalists at all, and this is just a trick  to blockade the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. "This includes  representatives of various power bodies of the Azerbaijan Republic.  This is a performance. Tomorrow they will send artists or cyclists.  Yes, even if there are some environmental issues, are they resolved  this way? We also have a lot of environmental issues for them. The  same Azerbaijanis used phosphorus bombs against the civilians of  Artsakh during the 44-day war. We have a lot of proof of this," he  said.

At the same time, he noted that there are generally accepted methods  for discussing issues.  "There is another subtlety in this matter.  Having resorted to this trick, the Azerbaijanis tomorrow will demand  the closure of mines in the territory of Artsakh, and this is one of  the most important locomotives of our economy, and which, by the way,  complies with all environmental standards," Babayan said.

It was also noted that the Kashen mine is located more than 20 km  from the nearest Azerbaijani settlement and naturally cannot have any  environmental impact, including on the water resources of the  Azerbaijani side.