“The issue of the RA-Azerbaijan agreement is important because it should fix the status of Artsakh. The unblocking of communication channels and demarcation are not directly related to the status issue. If there is a demarcation between Sisian and Nakhichevan, it has nothing to do with the status of Artsakh,” said political scientist Benjamin Poghosyan at the Media Center, referring to the talks between Nikol Pashinyan-Aliyev-Charles Michel held in Brussels on May 23.
According to his definition, “This is the situation. The Western partners understand that in order to have a lasting peace here, it is desirable for the parties to come to an agreement, including on the status of Artsakh. In my estimation, no one in the West is forcing Armenia to accept that the only way is for Artsakh to be part of Azerbaijan. But in fact, receiving signals from our government, there was enthusiasm in the West. Pashinyan has hinted three times that if the status of Artsakh within Azerbaijan ensures the rights of the Artsakh Armenians, Armenia will discuss it. In the West, they think that if Armenia thinks that the possibility of leaving Artsakh within Azerbaijan can be discussed, then the discussion should focus on security guarantees.”
Hence, as Benjamin Poghosyan mentioned, there can be a status of cultural-political autonomy or a lack of autonomy. “According to the West, if Armenia is ready to give up the position that Artsakh can not be part of Azerbaijan, it is happy, because the possibility of reaching a final agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan increases.”
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Benjamin Poghosyan stressed, “I do not think that Russia is interested in the Armenia-Azerbaijan agreement on Artsakh because there is concern in Russia that the West wants to reach an Armenia-Azerbaijan agreement on the status of Artsakh, regardless of what it will be like. We all understand that now to expect that Azerbaijan will recognize the Artsakh Republic in that future agreement, the probability is zero, regardless of the desire of Russia or the West. Therefore, if the Armenia-Azerbaijan agreement is to be signed, it will mean leaving Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan. This will also be a concern for Russia, because the issue of removing Russian peacekeepers will be raised by Azerbaijan’s West. The Russians are telling us to end the blockade of the means of communication, start the demarcation, negotiate an agreement with Azerbaijan, but avoid signing as much as possible.”
According to Benjamin Poghosyan, the West seeks to complete the process by 2025, that is, by the end of the term of the Russian peacekeepers.
Luiza Sukiasyan
