BAKU: Azerbaijan accused Russia on Sunday of failing to fulfil its obligations under a 2020 Moscow-brokered cease-fire agreement to end fighting with Armenia for control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
“The Russian side did not ensure full implementation of the agreement within the framework of its obligations,” Baku’s foreign ministry said, adding that Moscow “did nothing to prevent” Armenia’s military supplies from reaching separatist forces in the restive enclave.
In autumn 2020, Russia sponsored a cease-fire agreement that ended six weeks of fighting over the mountainous breakaway region.
The deal saw Armenia cede swathes of territory, while Russia deployed peacekeepers to the five-kilometer-wide Lachin Corridor, the sole land link between the enclave and Armenia.
Baku recently closed the corridor, sparking protests and fears of a humanitarian crisis.
On Saturday, Russia’s foreign ministry urged Azerbaijan to reopen the passageway.
It also said Armenia’s recent recognition of Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan “has radically changed the standing of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.”
“Under such conditions, the responsibility for the destiny of Karabakh’s Armenian population should not be shifted onto third countries,” it said, a possible reference to the Armenian separatists’ calls for Moscow to ensure the reopening of the land link.
On Saturday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met in Brussels for EU-mediated talks aimed at resolving their decades-long conflict for control of Karabakh.
Baku and Yerevan have been trying to negotiate a peace deal with the help of the European Union and United States, whose growing diplomatic engagement in the Caucasus has irked Russia.
In a bid to reassert its power-broking role, Moscow on Saturday offered to host the two countries’ foreign ministers and suggested their future peace treaty could be signed in Moscow.
Azerbaijan says Russia not fulfilling Karabakh cease-fire deal obligations
https://arab.news/4wxbx
Azerbaijan says Russia not fulfilling Karabakh cease-fire deal obligations
- Russia sponsored a cease-fire agreement in 2020 that ended six weeks of fighting over the disputed mountainous region
Pull him off TV: Steve Bannon shuts down Sen. Lindsey Graham
- Trump’s former chief strategist called for the senator to be registered as a foreign agent
DUBAI: Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon called on Tuesday for US Senator Lindsey Graham to be registered as a foreign agent of the Israeli government, escalating a growing conservative backlash against the senator’s vocal support for Israel.
Speaking on his podcast “War Room,” Bannon said Graham should be “pulled off of television,” adding: "This is dangerous… because you have guys like Lindsey Graham and dozens more that are doing the wrong thing.”
In a Fox News interview on Monday, Graham said: “To all the antisemites, to all the isolationists… I’m not with you, I’m with Israel, I will be with Israel to our dying day.”
Graham also urged Gulf Arab states to join military action against Iran. “What I want you to do in the Middle East, to our friends in Saudi Arabia and other places, [is] step forward and say, ‘this is my fight too, I join America, I’m publicly involved in bringing this regime down,’” he said.
In a post on X, Graham questioned the value of a US defense agreement with Saudi Arabia following the evacuation of the American embassy in Riyadh, writing: “Why should America do a defense agreement with a country like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that is unwilling to join a fight of mutual interest?”
Faisal Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News, responded to Graham’s comments in a Sky News interview, saying: “He flip flops so much, it’s actually entertaining.”
“On one hand, he says he will never set foot in Saudi Arabia. The next day, he’s here signing multimillion-dollar deals.”
“I don’t think anyone here takes him seriously,” Abbas added.
He warned Graham to be careful what he wished for: “Do you really want Saudi Arabia involved in this war putting our oil facilities at risk or do you want us stabilizing the energy markets?”
Graham pressed further, warning that inaction would carry a price. “Hopefully Gulf Cooperation Council countries will get more involved as this fight is in their backyard. If you are not willing to use your military now, when are you willing to use it?”
“Hopefully this changes soon. If not, consequences will follow.”
Graham's remarks drew sharp criticism from Bannon and others including podcast host Megyn Kelly.
She questioned on X whether Graham was overstepping his authority as a senator, writing: “When did Lindsay Graham become our president?”
Kelly also said Graham had threatened Lebanon, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, the wider Arab region, and Spain within a 24-hour period.
The problem with Graham “isn’t (just) that he’s a homicidal maniac, it’s that Trump likes and is listening to him,” she said in another post.
