"Accusations against Azerbaijan are Nikol Pashinyan's just another fantasy"
Expert opinions on Caliber.Az

INTERVIEWS  30 January 2023 - 17:04

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, speaking at a recent government meeting, exposed Azerbaijan's "conspiracy" against Armenians in Karabakh. "According to the information we have, Baku's plan is as follows: to bring the economic and psychological pressure on Karabakh to a pinnacle, then open a corridor for a few days with the expectation that Karabakh Armenians will leave their homes in droves, and do this until the last Armenian leaves Karabakh," he said.

Pashinyan said this is not the only goal of Azerbaijan, as Baku aims to derail the peace negotiations process and provoke a new war in the region. He also called for an international fact-finding mission to be sent to the Lachin road. "We must work consistently in this direction," Pashinyan concluded.

So, the de facto head of Armenia has issued three guesses about Baku's plans:

- expel all Armenians from Karabakh,

- derail the peace talks,

- and to unleash a new war.

How consistent are these assumptions with today's realities in our region? On what basis are these conclusions drawn?

Foreign experts share their thoughts on the matter with Caliber.Az.

As Kazakhstani political analyst Kazbek Beisebayev noted, to begin it should be noted that many Armenians started to leave Karabakh after Azerbaijan reclaimed its lands. Therefore, it is a natural and legitimate process.

"When the Armenian leadership accuses Azerbaijan of intending to expel all Armenians from Karabakh, we should not forget that such statements are also designed for an internal audience. As the world experience shows, with such statements they want to distract the attention of their own citizens from acute internal problems.

In my view, the solution to the Karabakh problem lies in the implementation of the provisions of the signed Trilateral Statement.

However, claims by Armenia will continue until the Karabakh problem is finally resolved. Baku is consistently working in this direction," Beisebayev believes.

Vakhtang Maisaya, a doctor of military and political sciences from Georgia, says that we are dealing here with another fantasy of Pashinyan.

"I can't imagine why he thinks Azerbaijan is preparing a new war. I think that with such speeches he aims to somehow compensate for his unsuccessful policy on the results of the 44-day war.

It seems to me that with these statements Prime Minister Pashinyan wants to improve or at least keep his rating in Armenian society, and internationally too. In this way, he also wants to once again draw attention (in the way he wants) to the part of Karabakh controlled by the separatist regime. Such conclusions can be drawn from his words.

There is now a strong political crisis developing in Armenia and any such statements or even insinuations are a lifeline for Pashinyan," Maisaysa believes.

As for the Armenian leader's assumptions, this is his vision, said Vitaly Andrievsky, a doctor of history and director of the Institute for Effective Politics (Chisinau).

"Time will tell whether it corresponds to Azerbaijan's plans or not. I have my own proposals. First of all, Azerbaijan should return all its territories. Preferably by peaceful means.

Secondly, comprehensive guarantees must be given to Armenians who live in these territories and do not intend to leave them.

I was in Azerbaijan and Armenia back in the Soviet times. And I like these two nations. I would like them to live in peace and harmony," the Moldovan expert concluded.

Caliber.Az