ANALYTICS

Germany is not in need of a separatist "Artsakh" clot in the trans-Eurasian arteries!

15.03.23 11:20


Germany seems to have finally decided on the Karabakh issue, recognising it as purely an internal affair of Azerbaijan. During a joint press conference with President Ilham Aliyev, the head of the German government, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, emphasised twice that Germany and the entire international community did not recognise Karabakh and the idea of its independence. Olaf Scholz only spoke about the population living in Karabakh in the context of ethnic minorities.

 

The most interesting is that recently the same , while hosting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Germany, let slip something about "self-determination of Nagorno-Karabakh citizens," which caused wild delight of Armenian nationalists. But then, these words were removed from the official page of the German chancellor and the German leadership made it clear that there will be no practical "development" of the phrase about "citizens of Nagorno-Karabakh". And now Olaf Scholz has clearly and unambiguously outlined Germany's position as a country which recognises the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and considers interference in its internal affairs, including on issues of national minorities, unacceptable.

 

The fact that Germany very quickly decided on its position, and in the right direction, is no coincidence. This happened despite the obvious desire of French "friends" to get official Berlin to support the Armenian "Artsakh" separatists. The fact is that Germany's economy is experiencing more and more problems as a consequence of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, and in all spheres.

 

The undermining of the Nord Stream pipeline has led to problems in Germany's energy balance, and the perniciousness of the policy of "energy bonding" with Russia has become evident. In Germany, the policy of Italy, which has diversified its sources of gas supply and is betting on increased imports of natural gas from Azerbaijan, is seen as more successful. Naturally, its interest in Caspian energy supply is incompatible with its support for separatism in the South Caucasus along the transit routes for these energy resources.

Germany

needs 'alternative' East-West trade routes, preferably bypassing Russia, which has become an international pariah. And here particular attention is starting to be paid to routes through the South Caucasus, which could become a major trans-continental artery linking Germany and EU countries on the one hand and China and Central Asian states on the other.

 

However, as we know, the security of this artery is threatened by 'clots' in the form of separatist projects, most notably the 'Artsakh' project in Azerbaijan's Karabakh.  Just as a ruptured blood clot in the human body can block an artery and lead the body to death, in the same way separatist 'blood clots' on trans-Eurasian routes can also 'explode' in large-scale wars with global negative consequences.

 

Meanwhile, Germany has a vested interest in uninterrupted transit along the trans-Eurasian routes right now. Furthermore, Berlin is also interested in economic cooperation and the growth of trade with China. It is no coincidence that Olaf Scholz was, in fact, the only Western leader to congratulate Xi Jinping on his re-election as President of China.

 

For its part, China, for its part, seeks to promote transit on key routes, particularly those in which the Chinese economy is interested, as smoothly as possible.  Beijing recently mediated the normalisation of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. It has made it clear that it has no interest in a conflict between key economic partners in the Middle East (China is increasing its oil imports from Saudi Arabia, and trade between Iran and China is also growing).

 

Under such circumstances, Germany, the EU's leading economy, which depends on relations with the "world's workshop" China, is not at all in favour of creating problems in the arteries linking the two economic centres of Eurasia. No matter how much Paris, which traditionally "adjusts" Berlin's policy in its favour, would be interested in this.

 

The Armenian nationalists and Artsakh separatists will not get support in Germany, despite all their hopes. So, they need to enter a dialogue with Azerbaijan as soon as possible and do everything to have Yerevan and Baku sign a peace treaty as soon as possible, based on respect for territorial integrity and unblocking of communications. Germany is also interested in the functioning of the Zangezur corridor, another transcontinental transport corridor.

 

As for Artsakh separatism, this project must be definitively closed. All illegal separatist gangs must be expelled from Azerbaijani territory and Karabakh Armenians must be integrated into Azerbaijani society as full citizens of Azerbaijan.

 

 

 

George Kvinitadze

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