Authorities, opposition at loggerheads over "auctioned Armenia"
"Betrayal of national interests" on the agenda

ANALYTICS  27 March 2024 - 13:17

The Armenian authorities and the opposition are trading allegations, with both sides accusing each other of betraying national interests and working for Azerbaijan and Türkiye.

Mesrop Arakelyan, the co-founder of the "Aprilu Yerkir" party, criticized the Armenian leadership for allegedly spreading false news about the possible release of Russian-Armenian oligarch Ruben Vardanyan. Arakelyan's claims are largely hypothetical, as he did not provide any evidence to support his allegations. He also mentioned that Vardanyan would eventually return to serve Armenia while calling those who sell the Motherland for Azerbaijani manats and Turkish liras "scum". Arakelyan did not disclose the full list of alleged traitors or specify the price at which Armenia is being sold. However, his statement suggests that the Armenian traders value the Azerbaijani manat and Turkish lira more than the dollar and euro.

In fact, Armenian officials decided to join the opposition and explain how they saw the list of those bragaining Armenia. Hakob Aslanian, a member of parliament from Armenia's ruling Civil Contract Party, proved to be an expert on the subject. He said that he and his fellow party members were well aware of who was "an agent of Russia and Azerbaijan". He also stated that the ARF "Dashnaktsutyun" party and the "Armenia" bloc faction are a whole network of agents.

However, he did not mention any names. But it would be interesting to get to know this list. For example, to compare it with the list of "political degenerates who trade Armenia for manats and liras" that Mesrop Arakelyan wrote about. Maybe you will find someone who has put a price on Armenia, who is doing it, who is working on several fronts.

At present, Aslanian offers only a muddled justification. "These are different things. We are not establishing diplomatic relations and we are not signing fraternal agreements," he says. Well, as they say, everything has its time. What did Nikol Pashinyan shout before? That "Karabakh is Armenia and that's it". Now he is saying that he fully supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Moreover, recently he has been talking more and more about the return to Azerbaijani control of four of our eight villages that are still under Armenian occupation. Pashinyan himself went to the Armenian province of Tavush (Tovuzgalin) to describe to the people there the gloomy prospects of their obstinacy on this issue. So we witness the metamorphosis of Pashinyan's standpoint. This is what Azerbaijan needs. And this is what Azerbaijan is seeking, while in Armenia they argue about who sells it more often and more successfully.

At this point let me note that Aslanian assured the Armenian public that the issue of constitutional change was not on the agenda at Azerbaijan's request. He called it a manipulation of the opposition. "We've long believed that the constitution must be changed," he vowed. Hakob did not specify what had prevented the Armenian ruling party from raising the issue earlier. He preferred to focus on "sudden discoveries". According to him, the Armenian constitution does not meet the requirements of the 21st century and the aspirations of the Armenian people. "We will change the constitution so that it really serves the interests of the Armenian people," concluded Hakob Aslanian. All right then! That's what we talked about. As we can see, the Armenian leadership is not only able to talk the talk but also to demonstrate concrete steps in the right direction.

However, the issue of the cost of Armenia's sale may return to the agenda. The Armenian opposition is likely to raise it again. Artur Khachatryan, a deputy from the "Armenia" faction of the ARF, is already tearing his hair out and ringing the alarm bells. They say that the section "Artsakh Republic" has been removed from the official website of the Armenian president. "This is another demand from Azerbaijan. References to 'Artsakh' are beginning to disappear from the websites of the state administration bodies of the Republic of Armenia," he complains.

Curiously, he has not yet offered the usual version that what has happened is also a consequence of putting Armenia up for auction. Azerbaijan is watching with a smile as the auctioning up of Armenia goes on according to the version of the authorities and the opposition of this country. The most important thing for us is that all the demands of official Baku are being met, albeit late and under duress, but they are being met. Azerbaijan is not interested in intra-Armenian discussions about the sale of Armenia and accusing someone of this.

Caliber.Az