“Such statements will make the negotiations process more difficult in the future since Azerbaijan has already started to take advantage of the situation and say that Armenia automatically must take on the responsibility and authority of negotiating on behalf of Artsakh if Armenia and Artsakh are part of one united homeland,” political analyst Angela Elibekova said when asked about how Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statements about unity and ‘Artsakh is Armenia’ will impact the negotiations process.
“It’s clear that Stepanakert will not return to the negotiations table for several years. What was more important here were statements from Azeri officials that this was the equivalent to declaring war.” The political analyst said that Azerbaijan views statements about uniting Armenia and Artsakh and implications about a referendum to be provocations. “One statement will not cause a war, but Azerbaijan to use it as justification for making the situation worse.”
When asked about the purpose of Nikol Pashinyan’s statements in Stepanakert, Angela Elibekova simply said that he likely did it for the internal audience, similar to why Azerbaijan makes militaristic statements.
