Azerbaijani analyst chides Armenian PM's shifting stance on peace treaty

Baku-based political analyst Farid Shafiyev has said that Azerbaijan, which seeks peace with Armenia, has been confronted with Yerevan's shifting stance since 2018.

He made the remarks on his official Twitter page in response to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's abrupt shift in rhetoric in the aftermath of a major border escalation with Azerbaijan that erupted on the night of September 12 to 13 and ensuing protests in Yerevan.

"Within 24 hours today [September 14], Nikol Pashinyan said that he is ready to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan and then - he is not going to sign any documents. Since 2018 we observe such turns in the PM opinion. Today's demonstration in Yerevan manifests that people are against peace with Azerbaijan. Several international pundits recently published pieces that Armenia had to make certain geopolitical choices due to tough neighborhood. In reality, Armenia had a chance of peace, but Armenia made a choice when it became independent in 1992-94 - war, irredentism, and territorial claims. And opted again for the same," he tweeted.

In this vein, Azerbaijan's newly appointed ambassador to Germany, Nasimi Aghayev, reiterated Azerbaijan's current position aimed at achieving peace with Armenia, which will have ramifications throughout the region.

"What does Azerbaijan want? Secure borders; good-neighbourly relations with Armenia based on respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty and open communications; and peaceful life of its Armenian citizens in Karabakh as part of multicultural Azerbaijan," he wrote on his official Twitter page.

The diplomat also wrote: "This BBC interview with Armenia's PM from 2020 has not aged well. Two years later Armenia still refuses to recognise Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, to renounce its territorial claims and to withdraw its illegal troops from Karabakh."

Against the background of all mentioned, Pashinyan earlier stated that Armenia's territorial integrity is a "red line" for him.

He made an appeal in light of protests in Yerevan on September 14 evening.

"Dear compatriots, I urge, I ask you not to succumb to manipulation. Any document has not been signed and is not being prepared for signing. This is an information diversion directed by hostile external forces in order to break the country's resistance," he said.

However, the PM told a session in parliament earlier on the same day that he is ready to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan.

"We want to sign a paper, as a result of which many people will curse us, call us 'traitors', even if the people decide to remove us from power, we will be more satisfied and grateful if as a result of this Armenia receives lasting peace and security with an area of 29,800 square kilometres. If this is secured, I will sign this decision. I am not interested in what will happen to me, I am interested in what will happen to the Republic of Armenia," Pashinyan said.

To recall, 71 Azerbaijani servicemen were killed in the most recent major border clashes sparked by Armenia's large-scale provocation following the 44-day war in 2020.

A Moscow-brokered ceasefire deal that Baku and Yerevan signed on November 10, 2020, brought an end to six weeks of war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it had occupied since the early 1990s. The agreement stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Armenian-occupied Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions. Before the signing of the deal, the Azerbaijani army had liberated around 300 villages, settlements, city centres, and historic Shusha city. On August 26, 2022, regained full control over Lachin, after Armenians vacated Lachin city centre, Sus and Zabukh villages.