Azerbaijani agenda taking hold in the minds of Armenians and their patrons Pallone no longer asking, but pleading with Baku

There is a hope that Armenia's political elite and sympathetic to its unenviable fate TV "talking heads" finally gained a sense of reality, or to be more precise - awareness of the inevitability. In any case, if we judge the actions and rhetoric of the Armenian leadership by the "change curve" theory developed by Swiss psychiatrist Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, we can affirm that Armenians (both the government and ordinary people) are now at the stage of accepting reality.

Over the past two years, the Armenian authorities have passed the previous stages (denial, bargaining, anger, depression) with indignant cries and lamentations and are finally, though with the same moans, preparing to accept the inevitable. After long and relatively unsuccessful wanderings from one centre of power to another, official Yerevan seems to have realized that Azerbaijan will never cede an inch of its land.

The Azerbaijani agenda unambiguously defines the Armenian consciousness today. It is easy to make sure of this if you look at the latest statements by the Armenian government and the discussions in the Armenian media. For example, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the head of the country, is already quite calmly, without too much discomfort, denying the remnants of the separatists entrenched in Karabakh.

Yerevan-based Iravunk, citing its sources, reported on the details of Pashinyan's meeting with the delegation of Karabakh separatists. According to the newspaper, Pashinyan told the representatives of the separatist regime that they should not rely on Yerevan's help in anything and should solve their problems entirely independently. In other words, the prime minister openly made it clear that the representatives of the separatist entity do not count on him. And it is noted that the ringleader of bandit formations in Karabakh Araik Harutunyan had to wait two days for the meeting with Pashinyan only to hear from him that they have different paths to follow. And it is clear - the destiny of Armenia is at stake, so there is no time for fanatics still dreaming of miatsum, because of which the country is now in an economic and social abyss.

We should not believe in Pashinyan's sincerity, especially when he is talking to the separatists. But it is obvious that he has nowhere to go and will have to sign a peace agreement. Despite the fact that the entire Armenian front, which has been concentrating all its hatred on the "velvet" prime minister since the surrender of the country in 2020, will now howl with particular fury and rush at him.

So the populist statements of Armenian politicians about "status" and "self-determination" will rend the air for a long time to come. However, they cannot set the tone anymore - the Karabakh issue has been resolved and in favour of Azerbaijan.

This is confirmed by a remarkable detail quoted by Hraparak newspaper. The Yerevan daily notes that an important state document for Armenians has disappeared. During the October 6 meeting of Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan in Prague, Azerbaijan and Armenia reaffirmed their adherence to the UN Charter and Almaty Declaration of 1991, according to which the parties recognized the territorial integrity of each other.

Of course, such a statement does not suit the revanchists at all, and they rushed to siege Pashinyan. Opponents of both the current government and even more so of peace with Azerbaijan suddenly recalled that Armenia had ratified the Alma-Ata Declaration with reservations, indicating that the document does not apply to Karabakh. Allegedly this had even been discussed in the Supreme Council of the republic and the conditions put forward were included in the protocol. Whether this protocol really existed, or it is another product of the Armenian brain, riddled with anger towards Turks, is difficult to judge, as well as how Pashinyan and his team managed to "lose" this paper confirmation. The parliament said there is no such document in their archives, nor has it been found in the archives of the Armenian Foreign Ministry. In short, the historical document, which could have been another obstacle to a peaceful settlement, has simply disappeared.

At the same time, ardent defenders of Armenian interests have also come to terms with the realities of the day. Even they are now clear that Karabakh has returned to its true masters. One of the main pro-Armenian lobbyists in the US Congress, Frank Pallone, co-chair of the US House Armenian Caucus, who for years has demanded that Karabakh be declared an independent Armenian state, now says in an interview with Yerevan TV that Azerbaijan should give the Karabakh Armenians at least some kind of autonomous status.

"Azerbaijan should clearly understand, as should Russia and other post-Soviet states, that during the Soviet Union there were autonomous regions, and Nagorno-Karabakh was not the only (such region), there were many of them. They had status under the constitution of the USSR. Yes, Azerbaijan was a republic, but Nagorno-Karabakh was an autonomous oblast, and this must continue. That is, Azerbaijan as a constituent part, a member of the peace treaty, must grant some kind of autonomous status to preserve the Armenian culture and people there," Pallone said.

The pro-Armenian congressman is no longer demanding, but rather asking Baku for some kind of status for the ethnic Armenian population of the Karabakh region within Azerbaijan. In general, even such fierce adherents of "miatsum" as Pallone have realised that Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan and allow themselves only humble requests.

So it can be stated that the Armenian leadership, the opposition, and the foreign lobby have understood the historical constant voiced by the national leader Heydar Aliyev: 'It is impossible to change history. For centuries Karabakh has belonged to Azerbaijan and will continue to belong to Azerbaijan".