Last week on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan has been the biggest over the past few years, armed clashes, called “four day war”. Having been in the border villages of Azerbaijan, on the local frontier and in the authoritative offices in Baku, the correspondent of “Kommersant” Kirill Krivosheev came to a disappointing conclusion: the escalation of the conflict may not be, but what has happened has inflicted a severe blow to the confidence of the parties to each other and threw far back the settlement process.On granitebay actions on the border between Armenian and Azerbaijani Tousen Tovuz lasted from 12 to 16 July, but already the fourth day, as it does not shoot — it gives hope that the current aggravation is over.However calm it is impossible to call. Now in the affected villages from the Azerbaijani side, count the damage and call the bomb squad to inspect the crater on the subject of unexploded ordnance.Nasib Kurbanov from the village of Gushchu Gondar walks, leaning on a crutch — he has serious problems with joints. In the days of active fighting, he and his wife went to the hospital, and it may have saved their lives. The couple returned home and when on the morning of 18 July the wife and I went to ask provender for the cattle she saw in the garden a big funnel.On call arrived employees of ANAMA — state service on clearance that allowed the correspondent of “Kommersant” to observe their work. However, previously I had about half an hour to wait in the yard while experts are not convinced that a shell exploded immediately and stay at the crater safely. “We look for fragments, but can not find they fly very far”,— said the employee of ANAMA, holding in the hand a yellow metal detector.On another street the correspondent of “Kommersant” pointed out the house where the shell did not explode, hitting between the dwelling house and bath. However, the shock wave was enough to knock a few bricks out of the wall. It happened a few days ago, and by the time of my arrival, the projectile had to disarm and leave the place.Although Dondar Gushchu is located about eight kilometers from the border is further than the other affected villages of Tovuz district, it was there that destruction was more: 12 houses damaged, two were completely destroyed. The military found that the shot from the howitzer D-30 sighting range which is 15 km away. a projectile, apparently, were in the house of two sisters, orphans — 20-year-old student of Roses and 22-year-old nurse Berane. In the same courtyard stands the house of their relatives where the blast blew out all the Windows.As argued by the respondents “b” to local residents, such attacks were not here since 1994. “Before the shot, but fell in the field near the border, says an elderly woman Ghajar Shamshuddenly.— And the day before (July 16.— “B”) it was like in Syria.”The same “b” told in Agdam, in the house of the only civilian killed during the exacerbation, 76-year-old Aziz Azizov. “He was a veteran of the Karabakh war and a very healthy person. If not the shell, he certainly could have lived to 90 years”,— said his daughter and niece.It is not clear who they fired, perplexed local residents. Azerbaijani soldiers appeared in the village soon after began to shoot from the other side. The fire of Azerbaijani artillery here also heard, but all claim that it was retaliatory.Village of Aghdam, where he lived, Mr. Azizov, Azerbaijan ends of the trenches, but to go on down the street and see them at least from a distance, the correspondent of “Kommersant” was not allowed. Said that for reasons of his own safety: to the Armenian village of Chinari, which also suffered during the artillery duel, it is only five kilometers in a straight line.In the end, to see what it looks like the border of Azerbaijan and Armenia, “y” was in the neighboring Gazakh district. This is the only section of the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan, which protects the army and the border troops. During the recent flare-up there’s not a shot, however, according to Colonel Muzaffar Parizade, this year the incident happened and lost the plot already.Zastava “Golden rock” (Qizil qaya), near which is a mountain of yellow stone, is a small, but well equipped. Trenches there faced with stone, along with a camera with a good approximation. The correspondent of “Kommersant” tried to see the Armenian positions through the porthole and the periscope, but couldn’t make anything out, except for rocky tops of the hills. But during tea time in the mess on the screen, broadcasting the images from the cameras, suddenly a man appeared. He climbed from the Armenian side on the strengthening of tires. “We do not violate the cease-fire, so he won’t even know that we saw him,’ said the Colonel Parizade.— But before they tried to move forward, but that they have, of course, did not happen.”Analysis paletowe it has triggered the current escalation of the conflict, is still unclear. In Yerevan claimed: 12 July (see “Kommersant” on 14 July) the Azerbaijani military came to the Armenian post on the Oise, but on seeing the enemy, abandoned the car and ran away, and then opened fire. As argument the Armenian side cites the video.The press Secretary of the defense Ministry of Azerbaijan Vagif Dargyakhli assured “Kommersant” that the video of UAZ — staged, made by Armenians in the provocative purposes. “We completely excluded”,— he said.Anyway, but the escalation on the border suggests that the mechanism of rapid communication established after a meeting of the President ��of zerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinian in Dushanbe in 2018 (see “Kommersant” on September 29, 2018) works, to put it mildly, not ideal. According to Vagif Dargyakhli, this connection is carried out not by the military, and some other Agency. What he did not specify.Press Secretary of the defense Ministry of Azerbaijan said “Kommersant” that his sensational statement about the possibility of a missile strike on the Metsamor NPP in Armenia, no reservation: “the Armenian side at the level of defense Minister, Deputy defense Minister and other officials indicated that they will fire our Mingechaur hydroelectric power station. It is located on a hill and it can be no less disastrous than the attack on Mezameru”. However, according to “Kommersant”, the threats to strike at the Mingechevir hydroelectric power station in Armenian media was voiced by the experts only find relevant statements by officials have failed.Interlocutors “” in Baku and in Yerevan admit that the battles July 12-16, nullified many diplomatic successes in recent times. “In 2016, Azerbaijan has dealt a severe blow to the peace process (meaning the fighting in Karabakh.— “B”), the consequences of which were not resolved until the end,— said “Kommersant” press Secretary of the Armenian foreign Ministry Anna Naghdalyan.— Over the past two years we have recorded some positive changes: reduced the number of violations of the cease-fire agreement was reached regarding the preparation of the peoples for peace, the first step to the realization of which was the project of exchange of journalists. In recent months, hateful rhetoric and threats of the Azerbaijani leadership’s bellicose statements, against which there was the last aggravation, returned peace process by April 2016”. And, therefore, trust that the side was strengthened with the help of humanitarian exchanges, according to the Armenian diplomats will have to restore from this point. “We previously reached an agreement on the preparation of the peoples for peace. However, recent events and aggressive statements by the Azerbaijani leadership showed that it is not the authorities of Azerbaijan must prepare the people, but rather the opposite — the people of Azerbaijan must prepare their power to the world,” said Mrs Naghdalyan.The head of the Baku club of political scientists “South Caucasus,” Ilgar Velizade, in turn, is convinced that Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations have been deprived of any ground, and because humanitarian measures have not led to result. “What we have seen in recent years, was similar to cosmetic repair of damaged building— he said “Kommersant”.— For effective negotiations, it is necessary to develop General principles that will make each side. Here is a very important role of moderators and mediators”.Kirill Krivosheev
