On February 6th, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev referred to the second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, who has been accused of overthrowing constitutional order, as a political prisoner. Aliyev also expressed that the criminal case against third President Serzh Sargsyan has “political motives.”
According to Turkish and Kurdish affairs expert Karen Hovhannisyan, Ilham Aliyev is attempting to use this situation to his advantage and get involved in the internal political situation in Armenia.
“He is trying to neutralize the dangerous circumstances that are present in Azerbaijan’s inner political life. He is trying to impact Armenian internal politics with his statements and bait Armenians. His intention is to cause divisions in Armenian politics for the benefit of Azerbaijan. In this way, he will try to tell his own people that he is able to have an impact on Armenian internal politics,” the expert told Aravot Daily.
According to Karen Hovhannisyan, if Robert Kocharyan’s defenders attempt to use Aliyev’s statement in defense of Kocharyan, or if Kocharyan’s opponents try to use Aliyev’s statement against Kocharyan, it will mean that Armenia has taken the bait. “This is what Aliyev wants to do. In any case, this is not news for the leaders of the countries involved in this conflict. They sometimes try to change the internal atmosphere in another country with the use of their statements. We have also sometimes made similar statements about the Talysh people and the Azeri political opposition. By the way, it seems like this is the first time that Aliyev is doing something like this. In the past, he never attempted to get involved in the inner political life of Armenia.”
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Luiza Sukiasyan
“Aravot” daily
