“Aravot” interlocutor, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh Arman Melikyan believes these actions increase the force and political pressure on Armenia and Artsakh.
– Mr. Melikyan, what do you think, is border aggression not a continuation of Azerbaijan’s policy of delaying negotiations?
– The incitement of border incidents is one of the fundamental elements of Azerbaijan’s policy and was always used long before the postponement of the second round of negotiations in Washington. It is another matter that the recent incidents were paralleled by the criticism directed at the USA in the Russian mass media, which referred to the extreme pressure applied by Washington to Baku and Stepanakert, with the demand to start a direct dialogue between the latter.
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That suggests that Moscow and Baku have harmonized their actions by increasing the force and political pressure on Armenia and Artsakh.
– At this moment, do you see preconditions that the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations can be resumed, or is it not beneficial for Azerbaijan?
– The decision regarding Baku’s participation in the new round of negotiations in Washington will now be made in Moscow. It’s not that President Aliyev was freer in this matter before; it’s just that the intervention of the Russian side was more disguised.
– President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that “Zangezur Corridor” is not an issue related to Armenia, but that issue is related to Iran. How would you interpret this statement?
– Perhaps the President of Turkey is referring to Iran’s declaration of inviolability of the borders of the region’s states. In other words, it can be concluded from his remarks that the “Zangezur Corridor” can also be launched by violating the territorial integrity of Armenia, and Armenia will not be able to prevent it if there is no problem with Iran’s military intervention.
– How would you characterize the statements coming from the West? Frank Pallone stated that “with its attacks on the territory of Armenia, Azerbaijan is jeopardizing the ongoing peace negotiations” Matthew Miller noted that “we are deeply concerned about the fact that the shots of the Azerbaijani side injured two foreigners.” At this moment, what is the value of these statements, if Azerbaijan does not stop its aggression and no sanctions are applied to it?
-Those statements will gain value only if Azerbaijan’s behavior changes. But, as said above, the difference in Azerbaijan’s behavior depends on Moscow because President Aliyev acts by coordinating his steps with Moscow. Now it should become visible whose influence is more significant for Baku, Moscow, and Washington.
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
“Aravot” daily, 17.06.2023
