Pundit Surenyants: Azerbaijani president seeks to denazify, demilitarise Armenia

Armenian political scientist Suren Surenyants addressed the remarks of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who called on Armenia to apologize for its war crimes.

According to Surenyants, Aliyev's demands include the need for Armenia to "abandon its destructive positions, provide maps of mass graves, and punish those responsible for them," Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

Surenyants emphasized that Aliyev’s statements should not be dismissed as mere propaganda but rather viewed as part of a consistent strategy aimed at the "denazification and demilitarization of Armenia."

He pointed out that this strategy finds support in Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s recent actions.

"Pashinyan has already stated that if we do not change the Constitution, ‘the bulls will tear us apart,’" Surenyants remarked, further suggesting that Pashinyan is considering withdrawing Armenia's claims from international courts.

The political scientist also raised concerns that in the near future, Pashinyan may advocate for the punishment of individuals who are currently regarded as national heroes for their role in the first Karabakh war.

"I am afraid that Pashinyan will convince us that the 'heroes' of the First Karabakh War should be punished," Surenyants concluded.

Notably, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has made repeated calls for the demilitarization of Armenia and changes to its constitution as a condition for peace between the two nations. He emphasized that Armenia's Constitution, which references territorial claims over the Karabakh region, stands in the way of any peace treaty.

President Aliyev says that Armenia’s Declaration of Independence and other legal documents contain territorial claims that challenge Azerbaijan’s sovereignty, particularly over Karabakh. He insists that until these references are removed and Armenia demilitarizes, there can be no sustainable peace agreement.

By Khagan Isayev