Armenian provocations against common sense Information chaos and hypocrisy

"Stupidity is a gift from God, but one mustn’t misuse it." Unfortunately, this well-known saying by Otto von Bismarck has never become — and is unlikely ever to become — a guiding principle for Armenian media outlets, especially when it comes to covering anything related to Azerbaijan. With them, it’s quite the opposite: the abuse of stupidity has turned into their trademark. And leading the charge among these Armenian information dumps is the Telegram channel "Bagramyan 26", proudly carrying the banner of what the great German statesman once ironically referred to as a divine gift.

Another prime example of this kind of stupidity elevated to an absolute can be found in the blatantly false publication by a pro-government Armenian Telegram channel regarding the remarks made by the Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan – Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration, Hikmet Hajiyev – during a panel at the Tehran Dialogue Forum.

It is worth recalling that he specifically stated: "The presence of foreign military forces in the region is no longer necessary, as they interfere in regional affairs to pursue their own interests."

And how did the Telegram channel “Bagramyan 26” respond? Here’s what it wrote, word for word: “It’s no secret that the only non-regional military force in the South Caucasus is Russia. However, today, on May 19, the Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly, Alen Simonyan, stated during a briefing that Armenia is currently not discussing the withdrawal of the Russian military base from its territory. It turns out that it is Azerbaijan that is pushing to drive Russia out of the region.”

This is a textbook example of a grossly distorted worldview and a pitiful provocation.

In reality, the claim that Armenia might shut down the 102nd Russian military base after signing a peace treaty with Azerbaijan was published by the Armenian newspaper Hraparak. And it was that publication Alen Simonyan was responding to. Azerbaijan, for its part, has not reacted at all to this entire piece of intra-Armenian verbal acrobatics.

However, the Azerbaijani state has consistently opposed the continued presence of the so-called European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA) along the conditional Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Hikmet Hajiyev has repeatedly voiced criticism of EUMA.

For instance, in December 2024, he stated that the EU mission’s activities on the conditional Armenian-Azerbaijani border should be brought to an end, emphasising that it was originally intended as a short-term deployment.

“We see no necessity for the deployment of any European Union mission on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The activities of this mission should come to an end. Its deployment was agreed upon in Prague with the participation of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of France Emmanuel Macron, Charles Michel, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

It was initially intended to be a short-term mission. However, we are now witnessing it becoming permanent, with both its personnel and the scope of its mandate expanding.

We see no need for the involvement of a third party in the delimitation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which is being carried out in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and peace.

We do not consider the EU mission to be a factor contributing to peacebuilding in the region. On the contrary, it is a source of concern,” Hikmet Hajiyev said at the time.

Azerbaijan has also openly voiced its discontent over the extension and expansion of the EUMA mandate without any consultation with Baku. President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly stated that such actions undermine trust and may be perceived as interference in the internal affairs of the region. As we can see, the very same position was articulated by Hikmet Hajiyev during the panel at the Tehran forum.

It is absolutely clear that Azerbaijan consistently promotes the idea of regional responsibility for ensuring security and stability in the South Caucasus. The country advocates that issues such as border stabilisation, demining, infrastructure reconstruction, and security must be addressed exclusively by the countries of the region themselves.

It is this regional approach — rather than external political grandstanding — that is capable of delivering a sustainable and balanced peace. Azerbaijan’s opposition to the presence of EUMA in the South Caucasus is not a rejection of international cooperation. Rather, it reflects a principled stance on sovereignty, the balance of interests, and a just peace process.

The presence of a one-sided and politicised mission that does not contribute to genuine de-escalation only undermines trust, deepens divisions, and jeopardises the entire peace process.

Azerbaijan offers a path of regional partnership, direct dialogue, and mutual respect — in stark contrast to the externally imposed approach that fails to account for the full scope of the South Caucasus’ geopolitical realities. That is the reality.

As for the content pushed by various Armenian propaganda outlets, it is nothing more than provocation — and of the most base and petty kind. Once again, it demonstrates that their intellectual and ideological ceiling is limited to squabbling with like-minded Armenian publications. The vast majority of them have long turned the abuse of stupidity into a tradition.