YEREVAN. Oct 24 (Interfax) - The August 2008 events became a cold shower for Azerbaijan, Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian said.
"I think not just a lesson, but a cold shower for Azerbaijan," he said in an interview with Interfax, commenting on a statement by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that the August 2008 events were a serious lesson for Armenia and Azerbaijan.
"In fact, this is exactly why Azerbaijan agreed to sign the Meindorf declaration [in November with Medvedev's mediation]. It stipulated peaceful political settlement of the problem. But apparently, human memory is short. The effect of a cold shower was brief, because almost a month later Baku voiced an opinion at a very high level that a peaceful political resolution does not mean an obligation not to use force. I will not comment here," the Armenian foreign minister said.
Speaking of a likelihood of a new war in the Karabakh conflict zone, he said that one needs to stay alert.
"Given the military rhetoric being heard from Baku, and not just rhetoric but concrete steps - a 20-fold increase of the defense budget, provocations on the line of contact, many other things, with Azerbaijan openly preparing for war and showing it off, one has to be alert," he said.
The international community repeatedly warned Azerbaijan that a new attempt to use force is not just unacceptable, but inadmissible, Nalbandian recalled.
"There was a very clear and strong message from Presidents Medvedev, Obama and Sarkozy from Deauville that there is no alternative to a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh; that is was precisely the use of force that led to the conflict situation, and that any new use of force will be strongly condemned by the international community. Someone needs to pay serious attention to it. Armenia will continue doing everything it can for the peaceful conflict resolution, because a military way is not a solution," he said.
As for a possible reaction from Russia and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in the event of a war in the region, Nalbandian cited a statement made by Russian President Medvedev during his state visit to Yerevan in August 2010.
"His reply to virtually the same question was very clear and lucid," Nalbandian said.
In particular, Medvedev told a press conference in Yerevan at the time that Armenia is one of the CSTO members, "and all the rest is based on our Treaty, it lists all the obligations of its members and all the opportunities made available to the CSTO countries. Russia is taking its allied obligations very seriously."