Top world powers issued a joint statement last week condemning “in the strongest terms” the recent escalation in southern Caucasus (located on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia) that has led to mounting casualties for Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The U.S., France, and Russia have called for a ceasefire after a recent breakout of violence stemming from a decades-old conflict for the Armenian-controlled region inside Azerbaijan called Nagorno-Karabakh.
The two former Soviet republics have been contesting the region since 1988, and went to war over it, until they called a cease fire in 1994.
The recent confrontations have led to dozens of citizens being killed and hundreds injured. The statement, from the countries that co-chair the OSCE Minsk mediation group, condemned the escalation and called for the “immediate cessation of hostilities between the relevant military forces.”
What prompted the week-long clash has been disputed by both sides. The New York Times said an Armenian missile strike killed a general and other officers in July along the cease-fire line.
The clashes had at first involved just militaries, but now the war has escalated and civilians and cities are being bombed. In fact, it is the worst fighting since the war between the two nations broke out some three decades ago. According to RT, Armenian forces said some of the injuries included its citizens and warned Azerbaijani civilians to leave the area due to looming retaliatory strikes.
Turkey to the Rescue?
With its currency fallen to all-time lows against the dollar; its economy slumping into depression; and the nation in conflict with Libya, Syria, and Greece, Turkey’s President Récep Tayyip Erdogan has taken sides in the conflict, sending arms and militia to back Azerbaijan.
The Financial Times reported that Erdogan double-downed on his “warmongering rhetoric,” and turned down the ceasefire demand, saying, “In order for there to be a solution, the occupiers must withdraw from these lands. It’s time for results and our Azeri brothers and sisters have taken matters into their own hands.”
Erdogan condemned Armenia for “attacking Azerbaijani lands” and said his country stands with “the friendly and brotherly Azerbaijan with all its facilities and heart.”
Arayik Harutyunyan, the president of the unofficial Armenian authority in Nagorno-Karabakh, said, “We must be prepared for a long war… The war will end with the defeat of Azerbaijan, or at least not with a victory,” according to WSWS.org.
He said Turkey also has its eyes set on Iran. WSWS.org pointed out the history in the region that includes “geopolitical rivalries, imperialist wars and local ethnic conflicts.”
TRENDPOST: Since the fighting between the two nations erupted on 27 September, both sides blamed each other for starting the battle that has killed dozens. Yesterday, Armenia accused Azerbaijan of firing missiles into Nagorno-Karabakh, and Azerbaijan blamed Armenia for bombing several towns and cities. It is reported that Iran, which borders both countries, is trying to negotiate a peace plan between the two warring nations.
If peace is not made and war continues, the future of the citizens of those nations will be deadly. A letter from Mukhtar Garadaghi, published in this morning’s Financial Times, exposes the severity of the conflict, which has been overlooked or is not mentioned.
Garadaghi states, “The common narrative largely ignores the fact that both Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding Azerbijiani regions were ethnically cleansed from over 600,000 Azerbijianis in the early 1990s. Coupling the recent genocide with the international interest in the region is a recipe for prolonged conflict.”
TREND FORECAST: As Gerald Celente has long noted, “When all else fails, they take you to war.”
Turkey is a failing nation. Its GDP is down 11 percent in the last quarter and has been on a steady decline over the past four years. With its currency crashing to new lows against the dollar and euro, over a week ago, Turkey’s central bank did a 180, raising interest rates in hopes of stopping the lira’s slide.
As the “Greatest Depression” worsens, civil unrest and military confrontations in the already economical and geopolitically unstable region will escalate.
Most citizens of the world are deaf, dumb, and blind to what is going on in the region and unaware of the dangers ahead. Indeed, this could be a flashpoint for World War III.
