(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Elnur Enveroglu
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Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's recent inconsistent
decisions on peace in the region overshadow his statements that he
could restore relations with official Baku in a short time.
Although Nikol Pashinyan has stated dozens of times since 2024 that
"we are ready to sign a peace document," he has followed each
statement with an illogical claim, causing the process to be
stalled.
Nikol Pashinyan's character is more reminiscent of a stage
person. Many experts have come to this conclusion when commenting
on his opinions. Even today, within the Pashinyan administration,
his decisions are not taken seriously. For example, when news broke
two weeks ago that Pashinyan had dismissed six of his ministers,
some commentators attributed this to his ministers giving less
importance to Pashinyan's decisions that frequently lose their
power.
Tit for tat in hard talks towards looming
peace
The reason for the delay in peace talks between Azerbaijan and
Armenia is that Armenia still has territorial claims against
Azerbaijan in its constitution and declaration of independence.
Although the initial reaction when official Baku informed the
Armenian leadership of this was positive, later Baku's demand was
reacted with a similar claim from the other side. Although Nikol
Pashinyan officially admitted in his statement in the Armenian
parliament that his country's constitution contains a clause
regarding claims against the territories of a neighbouring state,
after a while the Armenian prime minister came back with a claim
that could confuse the public. His claim was more like a
tit-for-tat in which he was assertive about Azerbaijan's
“territorial claim” against Armenia, citing the Azerbaijani
constitution as an unfounded reason. Nevertheless, all the facts
confirm that Pashinyan's claim is not stated in any clause of the
Azerbaijani constitution.
It is known that Armenia returned 4 enclaves belonging to
Azerbaijan in April 2024. At the same time, Armenia knows that 4
additional enclaves should be returned to Azerbaijan and has
officially confirmed this within the framework of the peace
agreement document that is still pending. In addition, the peace
document also includes a clause on the opening of communication
lines between Azerbaijan and Armenia, that is, the Zangazur
Corridor. However, Baku, wanting to continue the process quickly,
postponed the discussion of the Zangazur Corridor issue until after
the peace agreement.
And how did Yerevan act in response to this?
Both the demand from Baku to change the constitution and the
appeal to the International Court of Justice regarding Yerevan's
known crimes in the formerly occupied Garabagh are obviously
burdens for Armenia. To free himself from this burden, the
Pashinyan administration should have responded with some pretext.
Nikol Pashinyan, following in Baku's footsteps, is withdrawing his
baseless constitutional claim against Azerbaijan in an attempt to
supposedly contribute to peace talks. He even said that he had
withdrawn his unfathomable appeal to the international court
against Azerbaijan for unknown reasons; even knowing that it was
Armenia that committed murders in Garabagh and caused material and
moral damage to the country during the thirty-year occupation.
Why Pashinyan's dove of peace is much like a bellicose
jingoist?
Pashinyan's reflection on peace in the South Caucasus does not
concur with his presentation about Armenia as a dove of peace in
the region. He acts more as a belligerent government leader than a
peacemaker, given his growing appetite for arming Armenia.
The fact that Armenia's military spending has skyrocketed in
recent days and accounts for 6 per cent of the country's GDP does
not bode well. Pashinyan, thanks to his loan debts and a large part
of the country's revenues, brings howitzers, lethal weapons and
heavy artilleries to the country every month. Despite the
delimitation of the borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Yerevan
still agrees to the activities of the European Union Mission (EUMA)
near the border.
Armenia's ambiguous position towards Azerbaijan is reflected in
many of its recent steps. For example, Armenian Defence Minister
Suren Papikyan's calling the borderline with Azerbaijan a“front
line” during his recent visit to the border area, as well as the
information circulating about Armenia's construction of a new
military unit in the village of Qarakilse (Sisian), raises serious
questions. Armenian PM and his peace dove, which he said was
preparing for peace with a month left before the end of the year,
is it preparing to rain down bombs or is it peace in the air?
Fingers crossed...
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