Yerevan expects Astana to put Armenia's interests ahead of Azerbaijan's Karabakh nuance in ties with Kazakhstan

As you know Armenia, by tradition, squeezes itself into any scenario, sobbing pathetically, to tell about the unfortunate fate of its people, whom "the cruel Turks have mercilessly tortured" for centuries.  In particular, politicians and officials representing this country are now painting a picture of a "defenceless victim" on the verge of extinction due to "Azerbaijan’s aggression". However, they themselves superstitiously arrange provocations to further promote their destructive policy in the region.

So, Armenian Speaker Alen Simonyan recently used this roguish tactic during his meeting with Kazakh Senate Speaker Maulen Ashimbayev at the plenary session of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly in St Petersburg. Simonyan, in particular, tried to convince Ashimbayev that both in Armenia and in Karabakh, the situation after the 44-day war remains tense to this day – only, of course, because of Azerbaijan’s alleged political and territorial claims. He cited the recent armed provocation of Armenian armed forces in the direction of Lachin as evidence. In fact, it was a terrorist operation, which Azerbaijan was forced to stop.

It should be recalled that on April 11, units of the Armenian armed forces from positions in the Gorus district in the direction of the Dygh settlement opened fire on Azerbaijani army positions in the Lachin district with various-calibre weapons. Both sides suffered losses in a short battle as a result of the Armenian units' provocation.

The Armenian authorities are obviously mired in lies and deception, which they continue to impose on the entire international community. And they are aware of it both in Armenia and abroad. In a conversation with his Kazakh counterpart, Simonyan, however, reiterated Armenia "is determined to promote the peace agenda in the region and very much hopes in this regard to actively work with international partners, particularly Kazakhstan". That is, Yerevan is making a crazy attempt to entice Astana to its side and, more broadly, to bet on rapprochement with it. And there is a very reasonable explanation for this.

First, Kazakhstan is one of the leading CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organisation] countries, so Armenia, apparently, hopes to improve its very precarious position in this military bloc by strengthening ties with it. Second, it is clear that Yerevan expects Kazakhstan's support in the Karabakh issue, despite the fact that Astana holds a completely different position than Yerevan. After all, it is known that Kazakhstan fully supports Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and its borders’ immutability. Third, to the annoyance of the Armenian authorities, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have practically allied relations. So do other CSTO members, who, despite the fact that they are Yerevan's ally in the bloc, support Baku's position in resolving the Karabakh issue. That is why Armenia is trying hard to convince its CSTO colleagues that it is Yerevan that is committed to peace, and Baku is nullifying all its efforts.

The snag is that Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have been cooperating closely for a long time, and in the de-occupied territories in Karabakh. Even if we only consider the economic aspect, the Kazakh brothers no longer need Armenian separatists to operate in Karabakh, undermining peaceful life. Astana only deals with Baku and, in theory, does not need any other "allies" in the South Caucasus region.

This nuance, which is problematic for Armenian, was not ignored by Alen Simonyan. According to Armenian media, the Speaker expressed concern about the economic ties between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan in the territories that "came under Baku’s control as a result of the war". It should be recalled that in this March, the ceremony of pouring the first concrete into the foundation of the future Children's Creativity Centre named after Kazakh composer Kurmangazy took place in the Fuzuli district in the Karabakh region. Currently, excavation and preparatory work are already underway, and Kazakh and Azerbaijani developers plan to put the project into operation by late 2023.

Moreover, the fact that Kazakhstan is ready to expand its participation in rebuilding Karabakh was stated in April this year by Kazakh Ambassador to Azerbaijan Serzhan Abdikarimov during the Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan business forum. By the way, in late August 2022, as part of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s visit to Azerbaijan, the leaders of the two states signed a document on the restoration work carried out by Kazakhstan in the liberated territories of Karabakh. At the same time, Kazakhstan called for strengthening business ties with our country not only in a bilateral format but also within the framework of the Organisation of Turkic States. Therefore, it is not surprising that such circumstances irritate Armenia a lot, for which the mere mention of the Turks causes panic attacks and angry impotence.

Of course, Armenia cannot indifferently observe how the two Turkic states jointly implement major projects related, in particular, to laying a fibre-optic communication line along the bottom of the Caspian Sea - the total cost of this initiative is more than $50 million. In parallel, energy projects are planned and are already being implemented, including those related to the supply of Kazakh oil through Azerbaijan. All these facts indicate that Azerbaijani-Kazakh relations are designed for the long term and will develop steadily in all directions. Despite Armenia's discontent.

There is no doubt that Yerevan's efforts to persuade Kazakhstan of Azerbaijan's "provocative activities" will fail. In this regard, Simonyan's naive statements, most likely calculated on the Kazakh side's refusal to participate in the restoration of liberated Karabakh, only raise a grin. It is clear that by requesting friendship with the Kazakhs, the Armenians expect Kazakhstan to sacrifice Azerbaijan's interests for the sake of Armenia. To put it mildly, it's naive, but you can't stop people from dreaming...