Armenian political analysts assess risks to peacemakers' image after attacks on cars

The Russian militaries should investigate the incident with the vehicle transporting the bodies of perished Armenian servicemen, otherwise the efficiency of the peacemaking mission in Nagorno-Karabakh will be questioned, political analysts believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that at night on March 29, the vehicle with the bodies of perished servicemen was thrown with stones on the Stepanakert-Goris highway, breaking the vehicle's windows.

The command of the Russian peacemakers must react to the above incident, Armen Vardanyan, a political analyst, believes. If they fail to do this, then new attacks are not excluded, including on the 21-kilometre section of the Goris-Kapan highway, in the immediate vicinity of deployment of Azerbaijani units, Mr Vardanyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"This incident is, first of all, a blow to the image of the Russian peacemaking contingent [...] Russia itself should be interested in the inquiry, since it is about the prestige of its peacemaking mission," the political analyst has stressed.

Akop Badalyan, a political observer, also believes that the Russian party should react to any incidents. "The Russian peacemaking mission has undertaken to suppress and prevent such incidents. Especially given the fact that [the incident with the car of the Ministry of Public Health of Nagorno-Karabakh occurred] in the Lachin Corridor – the area under special control of Russian peacemakers," Mr Badalyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 2, 2021 at 02:16 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.