Warnings from Kur River's banks
In wake of President Aliyev's interview

ANALYTICS  20 April 2023 - 17:45

On April 18, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev gave an interview to Azerbaijani Television in the city of Salyan. Among other topics, the head of state answered questions about the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement.

First of all, Ilham Aliyev recalled Yerevan's recognition that the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia should be established in accordance with the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991, and called on Armenia’s leadership to consistently follow the logic of this recognition. " Because if they [Armenia] have said ‘A’, they should also say ‘B’. Having shown its readiness for a peace treaty based on the Alma-Ata Declaration, Armenia should now officially declare that Karabakh is Azerbaijan," the Azerbaijani president said.

In fact, it is an urgent call to finally sign a comprehensive peace [treaty]. However, as the events of the last two years have shown, often saying "A", [Armenian Prime Minister Nikol] Pashinyan does not say "B", switches to the Armenian alphabet altogether and starts talking nonsense about some special humanitarian "status" of Karabakh, separate consideration of the security issue, international missions, etc. In short, inventing all sorts of excuses to slow down the peace process and, accordingly, evading unconditional recognition of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.

It seems that Armenia somehow misunderstands us, or rather, misinterprets reality. It probably believes that if Azerbaijan is so energetically taking the initiative to sign peace, then it means that Azerbaijan needs this peace more than Armenia, and this seems to give it some advantage. The Armenian authorities themselves hardly understand what it is, in any case, they have not yet been able to clearly formulate the advantages of this bonus. It seems that they act on the principle of "what is good for a Russian, then death for a German", understanding that if the Azerbaijanis want peace, then the Armenians must hinder. The tactics are very similar to the behaviour of a teenager in early puberty, who refuses to dress warmly out of the spirit of contradiction, and then suffers from all the symptoms of the flu, including complications. If the Armenian elites had at least a little bit of state maturity, they would have realised that they need peace first of all.

Isolated from all regional projects, with a plunging economy, lack of development prospects and a population decline growing against the background of all these charms, the Republic of Armenia is simply doomed to peace with its neighbours if it wants to remain in the status of a state, and not a marginal entity where gangs and foreign proxies are constantly fighting.

Yerevan does not want to realise in any way that Azerbaijan, unlike Armenia, needs peace not as a means of survival but to turn the page of the past. We are facing the future, we want to create in an ensemble of regional countries, without looking back at the fragments of the former problem. And yes, we have something to lose. First of all, the lives of young soldiers, which is inevitable with the military option of protecting their territorial integrity. You Armenians probably don't want to lose your soldiers either. And the victims on your part, as the history of the last seven years shows, are usually more. All Armenians, young and old, are "experts" in ancient history. However, they seem to have identical problems with recent history.

 Sometimes it seems that the Armenian super-idea is simply to be an annoying speck in the eye of the Caucasian region. Wouldn't it be better to become a full-fledged part of this growing organism? Moreover, the Armenians have no chance of revenge. So, it is pointless to delay the signing of the main agreement - it will still be our path. And the Azerbaijani leader warned the Armenians about this once again: "I believe that the progress of this issue is evidence of that (Armenia's obligation to recognize Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan – ed.) because there is no other option. We have repeatedly stated that we will not discuss our internal affairs with any country. Karabakh is our internal matter. Armenians living in Karabakh should either accept Azerbaijani citizenship or find another place to live.”

At the same time, special attention should be paid to the president's remarks addressed to those who carry out destructive activities, namely the separatist leaders.

"The separatists should also understand that they have two options: either they will live under the Azerbaijani flag or they will leave. We have chased Serzhik Sargsyan, Robert Kocharian and Seyran Ohanyan, the main figures of the separatists, out of Karabakh like dogs and brought them to their knees. They came to Karabakh during the Second Karabakh War supposedly to fight against us. All three ran away from our lands like rabbits. None of them can poke their nose into Khankendi or any other place now," the head of state said harshly. However, there could be no other way. Having made a digression, we note that the separatist thugs deserve not just any vilification, but a temporary suspension of the ban on the death penalty so that it could be applied to them.

However, the president's rhetoric is more than just accusatory; it makes it clear to ordinary Karabakh residents who their so-called "defenders" are and with whom they are dealing from the standpoint of Azerbaijan.

The president developed this idea to a logical conclusion: " We have tried to explain to them many times in different ways (by the way, it is curious to follow Aliyev's intonation during a television interview – he deliberately repeated the word "different" twice, making it clear that Azerbaijan, before turning to force methods, always tries to solve the problem bloodlessly) that they will either follow our word or they will be rejected from there and leave the Armenians there, who have actually become their hostages and captives, in peace. The separatists, who are currently inventing some fictitious names for themselves – one calls himself a president, another calls himself a minister, another one calls himself a speaker of some parliament – this group of clowns must finally understand that they cannot play with our patience.”

In general, the content of the message sent to the gang leaders indicates that there is a tendency in the Armenian community itself to integrate with Azerbaijan: people are tired of confrontation, want to live in peace and did not care about the "existential threat" imposed on them by ideologists, politicians and bandits. However, fans of muddying the waters in the person of Kocharyan, Sargsyan and others are making every effort to inspire Armenians with revanchist sentiments both in Armenia and in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. If this public, still dreaming of power, falls behind the people, then reintegration will happen faster.

The president directly expresses this idea: "I am sure that the majority of the Armenian population currently living in Karabakh is ready to accept Azerbaijani citizenship. Simply put, these leeches, these predatory animals won’t let them do that. They won't let these people live comfortably, having kept them as hostages for 30 years.”

The whole series of Armenia’s provocative actions, including the latest escalation on the conditional border, showed that no tricks will succeed in restoring the world community against Azerbaijan’s just cause – the restoration of the Karabakh region and the reintegration of Karabakh Armenians. This is a simple argument (and the number of warnings is by no means infinite) Once again said Aliyev: "Therefore, my position is this. Let everyone hear it – both the Armenian leaders and the forces standing behind them today. No one can influence our will. We have proven it – both during and after the war. If necessary, we will prove it again in any form."

Armenian leaders have already been convinced, and more than once, that the head of the Republic of Azerbaijan always backs up words with action. And he warned them more than once. And the more time passes, the reckoning becomes tougher. April 2016 was the first sign of the coming punishment, but Armenia not only failed to draw conclusions from these events but also managed to present them as its victory. They had to endure the 2020 war due to their arrogance. We won't need much time now, when the Armenian army's backbone is broken and the Armenian statehood is bursting at the seams, to bring the Armenian revanchists to their senses. If Armenia does not take decisive peace steps, the "Iron Fist" will force it to.

Let us remind you once again: President Aliyev always backs up words with action. Peace is inevitable. Question to the Armenians: "What price are you willing to pay for it?"

Caliber.Az