In Armenia, against the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem, in Moscow, in favor of Baku-Ankara demands
In connection with the program aired on October 23 on the all-Russian federal television channel “First Channel,” during which insulting and unacceptable expressions were made to the high-ranking officials of the Republic of Armenia, the RA Foreign Ministry summoned Sergey Kopirkin, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Armenia. The RA MFA reported that the Ambassador was handed a relevant protest note at the meeting.
The official move of Yerevan is quite late because the on-air “flood” with humiliating and insulting comments on Armenia on the Russian state airwaves started a long time ago. Even in the days of the 44-day war, when it was still unclear what course the war would take, when it was not known what tripartite document the parties could sign, experts with Russian and Armenian surnames were engaged in propaganda against the Armenian State. Clearly, they showed their sympathy towards MGIMO (Moscow State Institute of International Relations) barbarian Aliyev.
Nikol Pashinyan is not the problem here. The political field within our country can wage an irreconcilable struggle against the government, but when your state is belittled on the state television of a country that is a strategic ally of your country, it is a state-political line so that the sins committed by Azerbaijan are not noticed, this should have been a cause for reflection for Armenian experts.
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Why did they criticize Armenia on the Russian airwaves during the 44-day war in 2020? After all, Pashinyan had not yet reached the Prague and Brussels agreements. The answer is straightforward: to justify Aliyev’s decision to start a war against Artsakh. It got to the point that today; Putin publicly accused Armenia of having an army in Artsakh, thus also justifying Aliyev’s “anti-terrorist” operation against Artsakh in September of this year.
It is the personal decision of Armenian experts, experts with Armenian surnames, and “prominent” figures of the Russian media whether to appear on the Russian propaganda air or not. It’s just strange when, for several years now, no sour words have been spoken against the politics of Azerbaijan and Turkey on the Russian TV waves, and the condition of participation in those “talk shows” is not to criticize Aliyev. And what happens? Our oppositionists accuse the Armenian authorities of taking pro-Azerbaijani steps, acting as strong “patriots.”
Still, they go on Russian television and maintain Moscow’s political line of the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem. Therefore, a question may arise in the mind of an ordinary citizen: why do you accuse Nikol of having a line to establish peace with Azerbaijan if you do not have the right to voice any critical assessment of the policy of the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem even on the Russian airwaves?
Or, have those who appear on the Russian airwaves with Armenian surnames ever raised a question as to why Russia does not supply the weapons purchased by Armenia, or, if it needs weapons, why does it not return the money Armenia paid? In other words, don’t people with Armenian surnames notice Russia’s policy towards the State of Armenia? Is everything excellent and does Armenia and Armenian society deserve this kind of treatment? Is the only problem the RA government?
That Moscow is not impartial; moreover, it already takes a prominent side in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict; defending any step of Baku has been evident for a long time, and dozens of facts can prove it. Here, too, it is still being determined why official Yerevan decided to invite the Russian Ambassador to Armenia to the Foreign Ministry with such a delay. The authorities of Armenia should have responded to the steps against our State and Statehood very quickly and solved these problems a long time ago.
Now, Russia has already taken concrete actions. The speaker of the State Duma announced that they have decided to indefinitely postpone the discussion of the bill on recognizing Armenian driver’s licenses. It does not correspond to Russia’s interests, Vyacheslav Volodin said: “We considered it right to postpone the bill, by which additional privileges are granted, because the deputies of the National Assembly of Armenia, the authorities did not take any steps regarding the status of the Russian language. The Constitution fixes the status of the Russian language in Belarus and Kyrgyzstan,” noted Volodin, adding that Russia expects the same from Armenia.
Moscow can resort to more far-reaching steps, for example, stopping the gas supply or applying other sanctions. And here, Armenia needs to talk openly about why Moscow has started using sanctions. In this case, too, unfortunately, the situation is not encouraging. The authorities of Armenia do not clearly say that Russia is interested in the operation of the so-called “Zangezur Corridor.”
The oppositionists of Armenia are instructed to discuss this topic exclusively in this context: “The West is demanding the “Zangezur Corridor” from Armenia through Turkey” and “Nikol agrees to it,” and they bring this same memorized “justification” for months, running to various press clubs, several times a week. However, you will never hear a question from those same experts: why is there no disagreement between Moscow and Ankara regarding the unblocking of regional communications? Does Moscow not object to implementing the “Zangezur Corridor” imagined by the West and Ankara and demanded from Armenia? Can any expert with an Armenian surname explain this absurdity?
The threat of military confrontation in the South Caucasus has not disappeared, although Moscow and Baku consider that “the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh is solved.” Russian peacekeepers continue to stay in Artsakh, although the messages of the Russian Ministry of Defense presenting their “busy” activities are simply laughable. According to the Russian side, Russian peacekeepers are engaged in serious activities in empty, uninhabited cities and villages.
“Russian peacekeeping troops continue to carry out tasks in the territory of Karabakh,” and “constant cooperation is maintained with Baku aimed at preventing bloodshed, ensuring the safety of the civilian population and observing the norms of international law towards the population,” according to the reports of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The implementation plan of the “Corridor” is the crucial lever of Russia’s presence and influence in Armenia and Azerbaijan, with which Moscow will work and act after the Artsakh “problem is resolved” and in the event of steps against its interests, it will intensify a new conflict, already between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The saddest thing is that the government in Armenia needs to be more capable of making balanced decisions in line with the interests of the state and solving problems. The other part of the tragedy is the Armenian opposition, which is ready to justify and applaud any step and punitive action of Russia against the Armenian State. Apparently, this is the only condition for their survival in the Armenian political field; they have no other “program.”
Emma GABRIELYAN
“Aravot” daily newspaper, 26.10.2023
