Russian and Israeli citizen and blogger Alexander Lapshin is in Yerevan for a visit. He plans to stay in Armenia until the end of February. He wishes to travel all throughout Armenia, and he also appealed to the Ministry of Defense for permission to visit the border. Alexander Lapshin says that Armenia’s nature, architecture, and unique people are what interest him.
Alexander Lapshin was arrested in 2016 in Minsk for being put on Azerbaijan’s blacklist for visiting Artsakh. The General Prosecutor of Belarus, approving Azerbaijan’s case, extradited Lapshin to Baku. The blogger said that he understood one thing from all of that: “They’re dangerous and inadequate.”
Speaking about what has been happening in Azerbaijan lately, the blogger said that he believes Azeris have simply grown tired of Aliyev. That has nothing to do with Armenia. However, the people in Azerbaijan live worse than the people in Armenia do. “We should not underestimate the people of Azerbaijan. They may be living and working in a dictatorship, but there are also very educated and knowledgeable people who simply want to live in a free country. They saw what took place in Armenia. I think they want for that to happen to them as well.”
When asked if Azeri society is ready for peace in his opinion, Alexander Lapshin said, “I think that the people of Azerbaijan are ready, but the leadership of Azerbaijan is not, because peace with Armenia would bring about the downfall of Aliyev. They do not need peace with Armenia. They are upholding the behavior of an enemy and their authority at all costs.”
Nelly Grigoryan
