(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Rena Murshud read more The expected five-way informal meeting in Chisinau was held at a
positive level. Of course, it would be wrong to attribute this to
Armenia. The meeting included talks on energy, transport and
security issues, and there was also discussion on some outstanding
issues between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which has been on the agenda
for the past few years.
But as regards the main focus of the meeting, it was on
searching of alternative routes. Obviously, depending on the
geopolitical conditions, Europe is looking for alternative
transport routes to expand its energy supply. And in this case
demand for opening of Zangazur corridor comes to the importance.
The question is that would this be helpful to speed up the opening
of the Zangazur corridor in the near future?
“The essence of all the problems is obvious to everyone. All
communications must be open. Armenia is the only country that does
not want this. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, under various
pretexts, is trying to slow down the processes. Because while
negotiations are underway, on the one hand, it retains its power in
the region, and on the other hand, the country creates additional
conditions to show its strength in internal conflicts."
Azerbaijani political analyst Tofig Abbasov told this to Azernews while commenting commenting on the
issue . He added that until now, Armenia has
carried out the process of procrastination and has always avoided
specificity and objectivity. "In doing so, he focused on secondary
and tertiary issues. He believed that this would put Azerbaijan and
the head of state, Ilham Aliyev, in a hopeless situation. However,
in the course of the processes we observed the exact opposite,"
Abbasov said.
The expert emphasized that, not Azerbaijan, but on the contrary,
Armenia was in a desperate situation. "We saw that President Ilham
Aliyev defeated not only Armenia, but also the co-chairs of the
Minsk Group, foreign Armenian patrons - all of them. None of these
issues create favorable conditions for the Armenians. If bilateral
communication finds a solution, it will be proved that the
Armenians are ready to sign a peace treaty."
As regards the question about the progress that is expected to
achieve from the next trilateral meeting to be held in Brussels on
July 21, the expert replied that Azerbaijan has always openly
declared its position.
"Armenia always creates artificial barriers. When a clean
background is created at the end of each meeting, the Armenians say
that an international mechanism is needed to ensure the rights of
the Armenians living in Karabakh, and they exaggerate the issue.
However, President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly stressed that this
issue is an internal affair of Azerbaijan. If the Armenians living
there take citizenship, they will live in peace with the
Azerbaijanis, otherwise those who do not want to can leave our
lands. I think that those who do not want peace are not the
Armenian people, but Soros-based philanthropists abroad, lobbyists
and separatist groups. No concessions will be made to those whose
hands are stained with the blood of the Azerbaijani people," the
political analyst stressed.
According to the expert, there has never been a constructive
approach on the part of the Armenians. By following this policy,
they deny everything and destroy their future.
Tofig Abbasov also commented on France's participation in the
meeting and showing a somewhat soft position towards Azerbaijan. In
his response on France's such behavior, the expert stated that they
firstly understood that Azerbaijan would not take a step back on
this issue as it did by taking the main heights and strengthened
the control over Karabakh, and adjacent territories. And later
Azerbaijan established a checkpoint on the Lachin-Khankendi road
despite discontents and anxieties expressed by the West.
"Azerbaijan has shown its strength to the whole world not by
promises, but by deeds. France was shocked by this and was forced
to accept the position of Azerbaijan. France also worried that
going too far the limits would mar its relations with Azerbaijan.
As far as we know, Total is actively working in Azerbaijan. France
has invested about $4 billion in the Azerbaijani economy, which is
5 times ($ 700 million) more than they do in Armenia. For France,
Azerbaijan and Armenia may have the same geopolitical weight.
However, Azerbaijan has made very progressive steps in economic
terms in recent years. France decided to retreat on this issue, as
it was unprofitable for France to break off relations with
Azerbaijan," the expert concluded.
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Rena Murshud is AzerNews' staff journalist, follow her on
Twitter: @r enatagiyeva