At a moment when Armenia and Azerbaijan are closer than ever to signing a long-awaited peace treaty, some figures in Yerevan continue to indulge in the dangerous fantasy that peace is a form of surrender. Their claim that Armenia is being“pressured” into peace is not only misleading; it is a reckless narrative that exposes what they truly desire: perpetual confrontation, not reconciliation.

Those who insist that Armenia cannot accept peace because of supposed“humiliation” or“fear” offer no credible alternative. What, then, is their preferred option? Renewed war? Further aggression? The continued occupation or attempted re-occupation of another country's territory? By refusing to answer these questions honestly, they reveal the hollowness of their rhetoric.

Real threat to peace comes from those who fear it most

It is telling that their outrage is not directed at the prospect of another conflict, but at the basic idea of dialogue between societies. The mere fact that Armenian civil society representatives travelled to Baku, openly, safely, and with state support, is portrayed as betrayal rather than progress. Instead of welcoming confidence-building measures, they twist them into conspiracies, accusing their own government of“legitimising” events they have already predetermined in their minds.

Such actors refuse to acknowledge that Armenia is not compelled to make peace; it is choosing to, because peace is unquestionably in the interest of its people. No international pressure is required to recognise that stability, open borders, and regional cooperation are preferable to another cycle of devastation. Pretending otherwise is an insult to the public's intelligence.

In truth, these voices are not safeguarding national dignity, but they are sabotaging their country's future. By attempting to poison the atmosphere, delegitimise dialogue, and discredit any Armenian who seeks contact across the border, they perpetuate the very hostility they claim to oppose. Their position is not one of principle, but of political opportunism dressed up as patriotism.

The region has suffered enough. Those who now try to derail the peace process should be honest: their objection is not to pressure, but to peace itself.

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