King of hypocrisy
Following Pashinyan's visit to the Far East

ANALYTICS  08 September 2022 - 11:44

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has left for Vladivostok to attend the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum. Interestingly, Nikol Pashinyan rushed to the Far East right in the middle of a virtual communication with French President Emanuel Macron, and a real one with President of the European Council Charles Michel. To the dismay of the Armenian diaspora, he chose a meeting with the head of the state, for which Armenia is just an outpost, over intimate conversations with his western counterparts.

God forbid, I am not going to suspect the Armenian PM of masochistic habits and accuse him of lack of courage. And I will even keep silent about his "brilliant knowledge" of the Russian language, due to which he often becomes a laughing stock at any event where he is trying to apply his "deep knowledge". But I openly accuse Pashinyan of hypocrisy! In order not to be unfounded, I will go straight to the facts.

"The conversation with Türkiye has started, we hope to establish relations with Türkiye with Russia's support. There is an intensive conversation with Azerbaijan regarding the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. In this context, we also hope for the support of Russia - not only as a strategic ally of Armenia but also as a close partner of Azerbaijan. It opens new opportunities. I want to emphasize the role of Russia as co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, which is engaged in the settlement of the Karabakh problem," Pashinyan said in Vladivostok.

Although for some reason, while in Yerevan, he repeatedly spoke about the possibility of direct negotiations with Türkiye, without intermediaries. But in Moscow, he did not even mention the OSCE Minsk Group.

It goes further. Here is what he says (again from Vladivostok) about possible sanctions against Armenia (as Russia's ally) and the current economic situation in the country:

"We are concerned about food and energy security. There is also high inflation in our country, which is reflected in the social situation. But in general, we have a manageable situation. There is a problem, but there is no crisis situation. But I want to underline that it is due to the support of the Russian Federation."

Meanwhile, in Yerevan, and even more so in Paris, Nikol did not even mention Russia's support for the Armenian economy. And this, as they say, is still half the trouble. The peak of Pashinyan's hypocrisy is clearly observed in his elaborations on the relations with Azerbaijan, especially when it comes to the transport corridors.

"Legal issues need to be resolved, as well as under what legal regulations the road will operate. The position is generally clear: the roads should operate under the full sovereignty of the countries through which they pass. The idea behind this project is that Armenia will get transport routes through Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan will get transport routes on Armenian territory. We are very interested in this and hope to solve this issue with the support of Russia," says the prime minister, who has failed (and what is more likely, has not wanted) to build at least a couple of kilometres of these very communications on its territory in two years. Although it is fair to say that same Russia has always been in favour of these transport routes.

Instead of going towards, as he himself says, his strategic ally, Pashinyan for some reason tries to resuscitate the defunct OSCE Minsk Group, and he still has the nerve to emphasize Russia's role in the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations exclusively as a co-chair of this group. Apparently, Nikol was pushed to these fabrications by forum guests even more exotic than himself (it will just suffice to mention the head of Myanmar - auth. comm.). After the meeting with Aliyev in Brussels, where he looked like the musketeer's squire, the Armenian prime minister decided that Vladivostok is a place where he could become almost a "brother of the king". And the fact that the king is taking liberties with him in front of everyone only emphasizes their "close relations".

Coupled with the fact that the Armenian Prime Minister, unlike the Azerbaijani President, has absolutely no idea what, when, and how to do, his contradictory statements about the "status, which does not exist" slow down the process of full settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. Moreover, it is murderous - in the literal sense, because servicemen from both sides are dying on the border. Pashinyan's Armenian hypocrisy is really fountain-like: the prime minister says that Azerbaijan may try to destabilize the situation in the region, taking advantage of the fact that the world is busy with the Russian-Ukrainian war. He also mentioned the year 2020, accusing Azerbaijan of "aggression", turning everything upside down as usual.

No way - you cannot enjoy the best of both worlds. It is time for Ijevan king of hypocrisy to decide what he wants: peace or war.

If he wants peace, then first Nikol must stop provocations on the state border with Azerbaijan, fully comply with the requirements of the Trilateral statement of November 10, suppress revanchists' activities, stop making groundless accusations against our country, recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and take practical steps to conclude a peace agreement with Baku.

If the Armenian prime minister is not tempted by peace, he may refuse to fulfill the obligations he undertook as a result of the 44-day war. And then Azerbaijan will again force him to capitulate by force of arms. But let him bear in mind that in this case, the terms of surrender will be much tougher for Armenia than those that Pashinyan is now trying to avoid.

Caliber.Az