Armenian revanchism prevails over peace initiatives Yerevan’s Hypocrisy

"Revengeful forces are raising their head in Armenia. These are not only marginal political elements. Today's Armenian government lives with these ideas and fantasies as well,” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said during while addressing the first session of the VII convocation of the Milli Majlis (parliament). The president emphasized that they do not want to accept the results of the Second Karabakh War and the anti-terrorist operation.

" Although they are saying one thing, their work, policies and steps create a completely opposite picture. The formal keeping of the Minsk Group, which has had no functional significance to date, is proof of this," President Aliyev stated.

The same can be said of the Armenian leadership's reluctance to amend their constitution, which still contains territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

But that’s not the whole story. News has emerged about a foundation-laying and consecration ceremony for the "Call of Artsakh" memorial at the Yerablur Military Pantheon. Armenian media reports that the memorial will be unveiled soon.

According to its creators, it is intended to be a "symbol of the immortality of heroes who fell on the battlefield." This is a blatant provocation, aimed at galvanizing all revanchist forces in Armenia—across the board. In this, the Armenian government and opposition are aligned, as such a project could not have even been proposed without the approval of the country's leadership. Even more so, the foundation-laying and the future unveiling of a memorial with such a provocative and revanchist message would have been impossible without the direct approval of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. After all, this memorial is not being installed in the private courtyards of Robert Kocharyan or Serzh Sargsyan, but in a national military cemetery.

The speeches delivered at yesterday’s (September 24) provocative ceremony were quite something! Among the attendees were Samvel Shahramanyan, the last leader of the Karabakh junta, and Vrtanes Abrahamyan, "head of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church." In a country where Nikol Pashinyan is accompanied by a convoy of police cars and security during his cycling trips, it would have been easy to shut down this event and stop those clearly intent on making incendiary speeches. Yet, that didn’t happen.

As a result, Abrahamyan declared in his speech that "the fate of Nagorno-Karabakh, still under occupation, has become a collective test and a symbol of the struggle for dignity for the entire Armenian people." To regain that dignity, he emphasized, "Karabakh must be liberated." It’s hard to imagine a statement more provocative.

Although I may be mistaken—there was another provocative statement.

"We must do everything to ensure that Nagorno-Karabakh becomes an integral part of Armenia, with its own legislative and executive bodies. It must be visible to the diaspora and the international community," declared Vrtanes Abrahamyan, yet another provocateur in clerical robes. We've heard the same rhetoric time and again from Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, as well as Archbishop Bagrat, a representative of the Karabakh clan.

Indeed, the Armenian opposition and the Armenian Apostolic Church have never concealed their revanchist plans aimed at reclaiming Azerbaijani territories. Essentially, they are preparing the Armenian people for a new war against Azerbaijan. Moreover, the current Armenian government, as we can see, actively encourages these sentiments. It takes no action to prevent them and silently endorses calls that express territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

The very name of the memorial planned for installation in Yerevan serves as evidence of the unity between the Armenian authorities and the opposition on the issue of their claims to Karabakh. What, for heaven's sake, does the "Call of Artsakh" even mean after Nikol Pashinyan has repeatedly affirmed his recognition of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, including the Karabakh region and its enclaves?!

It seems that the statements made by Nikol Pashinyan and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan about their desire to quickly sign a peace agreement with Azerbaijan are worth very little. This presents yet another example of the blatant hypocrisy from Pashinyan and his circle.

Azerbaijan is fully aware of this situation and is drawing its conclusions. In this regard, we would like to recall another statement made by President Aliyev: " The number one priority is to increase our military strength. Although the Second Karabakh War and the anti-terror operation are now in the past, the processes going on in the world, new conflicts, the emergence of war zones and the increase of tensions around us, at the same time, the revengeful tendencies in Armenia compel us to keep this area in the spotlight at all times," stated Aliyev. These words came from a political leader who has proven to the world that he knows what to do, how to do it, and when to act.