“Maybe by referring to the corridor, Ilham Aliyev understands one thing, but we understand something else”

According to political scientist Armen Vardanyan, Nikol Pashinyan knows very well that Azerbaijan will not accept this situation, that is why, on the one hand, he creates such negotiations with his statements so that there is no new war, but on the other hand, when speaking to the public, he says more clearly that yes, we make such a statement, but it does not mean that it will lead to one hundred percent peace. “Ilham Aliyev’s statements are blackmails, warnings, and threats,” political scientist Armen Vardanyan answered Aravot’s question about if he thinks that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s statements that he has verbal agreements with the Armenian side that the status of Artsakh should not be raised at all a threat or a form of blackmail.

According to him, Ilham Aliyev is doing his best to throw the Nagorno-Karabakh issue into the dustbin of history and forget about it altogether.

He explained, “That’s why, when a question is constantly raised in connection with that topic, he starts having convulsions. It is not accidental that he has stated several times that the issue of Karabakh’s status has already been resolved. He even mentioned that the Minsk Group has nothing else to do, as the Karabakh issue is resolved.” We inquired whether these statements were connected with the concern of the Armenian opposition and analytical circles that the Armenian authorities were going to hand over Berdzor in July. Regarding this, Armen Vardanyan said, “The handover of Berdzor is one of the provisions of the November 9 announcement. And yes, according to that document, it must be handed over. This is not news. It was just mentioned in terms of time, three years later, but Azerbaijan quickly built an alternative way, maybe in terms of time it would try to get the Lachin corridor or the Berdzor section sooner. But in general, there is a provision about that point in the November 9 announcement. I think this is another question. There is nothing new here in the sense that there has been a written document about that for two years already.”

Referring to the issue of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, the political scientist said, “Aliyev has always made sure, especially after the war, that the issue of settlement should not be raised at all by any means. That’s why he is threatening the Armenian authorities and Armenia. It is not accidental that at the same time he shows territorial aspirations with the Republic of Armenia. He says that Armenian Syunik belongs to Azerbaijan, so that Armenia does not raise the issue of status in any way, but raises more humanitarian issues.”

We reminded Armen Vardanyan that in his speech at the 9th World Forum in Baku, Ilham Aliyev stated that the opening of the “Zangezur Corridor” is one of the basic elements of peace in the South Caucasus. We asked him how he would comment on this statement. Armen Vardanyan answered, “Maybe by referring to the corridor, Ilham Aliyev understands one thing, but we understand something else. In any case, the word corridor is not so clear here.

The term corridor usually implies a more extraterritorial status. In other words, if we fall behind the original word, it implies a certain part passing through the territory of the Republic of Armenia, which will not be under the sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia. But maybe he uses that term more from a psychological point of view, maybe he just uses it in the sense of a connecting link as a way of connecting with Nakhichevan, which the Armenian side does not reject. Armenia is ready to provide that path to Azerbaijan so that Azerbaijan has ties with the Republic of Nakhichevan, but it must be under the full sovereignty and control of Armenia. In the way that Aliyev wanted, he even announced even louder that the RA government should not have control there, and it will not be unequivocal. It is a red line for Armenia, and I am sure that the Armenian government will not take that step.”

In response to our question about how he has such confidence when he says that Aliyev probably does not mean a corridor in that sense, if he is already talking about Yerevan and Sevan, then why should he not have that ambition. Armen Vardanyan responded, “He has spoken about Yerevan and Syunik before. In that respect, it is more aimed at the internal audience. He has put himself in the place of a brave rooster, that is why he makes such statements. He also knows very well that it will never happen. Azerbaijan can not occupy that corridor by force or violence.”

Tatev HARUTYUNYAN