Yerevan’s political manipulations: A desperate attempt to evade justice Baku strikes back

In neighboring Armenia, which hardly needs an introduction, things are as usual — meaning, they are out of order. Today, they have taken up the well-known saying: "The best defense is a good offense." While this may be fitting for sports, it’s far from appropriate in the context of a serious legal trial against the leaders of the former separatist regime in Karabakh, who face charges of crimes against humanity. These include aggressive warfare, genocide, forced displacement, torture, military looting, and other heinous acts committed against Azerbaijan and its people.

Once again, Armenia has chosen to "attack" Azerbaijan through its aggressive rhetoric, cloaked in an ideological veneer. What makes this particularly official is that it’s coming directly from state channels. The only lingering question is whether this is the stance of the official "historical" Armenia or the so-called "real" Armenia. Perhaps only Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan fully understands the distinction. However, it’s likely that Ararat Mirzoyan, the country’s Foreign Minister, is also well-versed in the nuances of this rhetoric.

The question arises: is it the "real" or "historical" foreign ministry of Armenia that is expressing, no less, a very "deep concern" over the publications, including video recordings and photographs from the trials of 23 Armenian separatists? Meanwhile, Armenia’s foreign ministry has no qualms about calling these violators of the criminal code "prisoners of war" and putting the words "trial" in quotation marks.

Moreover, the statement references the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention Against Torture, and so on. Can you even imagine who is referring to these documents? The very same people who were behind the Khojaly genocide, who took pride in the murder of peaceful Azerbaijanis. And among the victims of Khojaly were also those from Western Azerbaijan, who had been forced to relocate to Khojaly, Karkijahan, Malibayli, and other areas after being violently expelled from their ancestral lands in the late 1980s, lands that are now part of Armenia. These people were displaced multiple times. So, with what conscience can they invoke the Declaration of Human Rights and similar documents?

At the same time, Armenian diplomats, without any moral or ethical restraint, are talking about the Baku trial "amid the continued propaganda of ethnic hatred against Armenians in Azerbaijani media." Dear readers of these lines, let's just pause for a moment and think about who decided to bring up ethnic hatred. Was it not the first president of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who justified the need for ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijanis in the Karabakh region in that infamous video? Was it not his successor, Robert Kocharyan, who in 2003 proudly declared the "ethnic incompatibility" of Armenians and Azerbaijanis? By the way, just a year later, Kocharyan, speaking at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, openly stated that "as a result of the collapse of the USSR, two independent states were formed on the territory of the former Azerbaijan SSR: the NKR and the Republic of Azerbaijan," and thus "the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan has nothing to do with the NKR," because this so-called puppet entity "is a fully established state, essentially meeting all the criteria for membership in the Council of Europe." So, after these remarks, isn't it clear who else should be sitting in the dock?

Was it not Armenia that shelled Azerbaijani territories in April 2016, resulting in the deaths of six Azerbaijani civilians, including children, and leaving 33 others with serious injuries? Yes, our brave armed forces gave a worthy response to the aggressors, liberating more than 2,000 hectares of territories that had been under occupation in the Fuzuli, Jabrayil, and former Aghdara districts during the counteroffensive. But the fact remains: the inhumanity of our geographical neighbors knows no bounds.

This is why, in his comment on the insinuations of the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the spokesperson of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Aykhan Hajizada, emphasized that for nearly 30 years, Armenia had been caring for the leaders of the former separatist regime in Karabakh, who are accused of serious crimes. As a result, according to both international and national law, "Azerbaijan has rights and obligations to investigate and prosecute these offenses under the Geneva Conventions and generally under international and domestic law. These detentions have a proper legal basis and do not impair the detainees’ rights." Therefore, all the artificial maneuvers by the Armenian foreign ministry were described by Hajizada in his comment as "political manipulations," driven by the fear of Armenia’s political leadership, which once openly supported those accused of war crimes "by all means to sustain the act and policy of aggression against Azerbaijan."

Let us agree that this aspect is central to the various manipulations by Armenia’s top leadership regarding Baku’s fair trial. And it could not be otherwise, as the historical truth about the so-called "real-historical" Armenia— which actively armed and financed the Karabakh separatists—is bound to come to light.

Thus, another stage in the restoration of historical justice is not far off. Statements like the one cited above from Armenia’s foreign ministry are not about concern for the fate of the accused separatists but rather a reflection of fears for their own future. However, the experience of recent years in the South Caucasus has confidently demonstrated that the truth will inevitably prevail!

With that in mind, we simply remind Armenia’s political establishment of what President Ilham Aliyev stated in the early days of December 2020:
"Since 1993 to the present day, Azerbaijan has been in good hands. For the National leader and then thanks to me, the interests of the Azerbaijani people have always been above everything else. Who were the leaders of Armenia? For 20 years, Armenia was led by bandits of the Kocharyan-Sargsyan junta and the Armenian people know only too well who led them in the last two and a half years. Their train is off."

Therefore, it is in the Armenian leadership’s own interest to stop evading responsibility and playing to the gallery. In this regard, Yerevan would be wise not to follow Paris’s lead, especially after Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry demanded that France “cease its baseless and deceitful campaign” against our country. Moreover, France continues its attempts to fuel “a new escalation in the region by arming Armenia.”

It is hard not to notice the deliberate synchronization between Yerevan and Paris, both of whom have simultaneously taken anti-Azerbaijani positions. Perhaps the Franco-Armenian alliance believes that this time their “case” might succeed. But this tandem refuses to learn from past mistakes—mistakes that have already led to resounding failures. With that in mind, they would do well to tread carefully.