"Fact" daily writes:
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev made repeated threats to the Republic of Armenia during an interview with Azerbaijani TV stations on January 7.
Some of the main emphases are: "fascism must be destroyed in Armenia", "Zangezur Corridor" must be opened, "we can live without the Peace Treaty".
Nothing new seems to have been said, but another dose of threats could also raise a new wave of anxiety.
Hermine Mkhitaryan, director of "Hayatsk" analytical center, says that it is difficult to respond to the question whether something new was said or not.
"What do we mean by something new? Once again, the logic we talked about months ago has been proven to work.
Azerbaijan in any way from any issue that it has put forward during this whole period, in 2020. in the period after the war, they did not take a single step back. They continue to push the same agenda.
Today, Baku imposes demands and preconditions on Yerevan at all possible levels.
That logic was proven once again: it was said that "Armenia is a fascist state", there are forces in Armenia against which the government of Armenia or Azerbaijan must fight.
In other words, all the elements of intimidation, threat of force, and coercion were present in this interview. to show that it is possible to conclude the "Peace Treaty" by putting some issues aside, there are such issues in the treaty that are not very sensitive for us.
It showed once again that all the risks we saw in connection with this process are more than real," says Mkhitaryan in a conversation with "Pasti".
He adds: "We can live without the Peace Treaty" was another slap in the face to the authorities.
But the other side shows that it is absolutely not important for them. There is a certain sincerity in this matter, that at least at that stage Azerbaijan does not need a contract, because in front of them there is a side that is ready to give in again and again, that is, why go and sign a paper, if it is possible to have a better paper tomorrow, even better the next day.
They need a government that is ready to solve any problem they say. In his last interview, which we will discuss, Pashinyan responded to Aliyev's statements and, for example, regarding the observations about the "Zangezur Corridor", he noted that Armenia presented a "Crossroads of Peace". the project.
What Ankara and Baku are demanding has nothing to do with it. "Crossroads of Peace" is, in a sense, the packaging of concessions. We don't know what was actually discussed behind closed doors, and what is the result of this project interlocutor.
Aliyev's observation regarding the destruction of fascism in Armenia was discussed the most.
Was this a message of the physical destruction of Armenia, as is often interpreted, or of forces with a national ideology and base? , which with its minimal application, minimal success efficiency will have a result that is again positive for them, and will have its maximum.
That approach was applicable in all issues, it was applicable in connection with Artsakh even before 2020, it was applicable after 2020 in connection with the so-called "refugees of Western Azerbaijan", it is applicable even today.
In the case of this wording, we are talking about the national forces in Armenia, which are ready and will be ready tomorrow to advance the national and state interests of Armenia at the negotiating table.
On the one hand, this is the case, and on the other hand, no one can rule it out, and Azerbaijan shows it with its daily activities, starting with its maps, during various events, with events held under different themes, that their goal is the entire Republic of Armenia.
They use this tool very skillfully, publicize an approach, a thesis, which can be applied at different levels and, one way or another, will have its effectiveness," our interlocutor notes.
What should be the reaction of official Yerevan to any statement full of threats?
But it is wrong in itself to set the problem of reacting only from this stage. Before this, they had to respond to many announcements and actions, and that response should be based on Armenia's red lines.
Even leaving the interests aside, the country's subjectivity and sovereignty are directly attacked. Since coming to power, this force has raised the issue of sovereignty, today they trample on that sovereignty and not a single word is actually heard.
Any sovereign power cannot and could not theoretically remain silent in a situation when the hostile side on the other side is resorting to direct coercion.
"There is clearly a side that dictates, and a side that, without doing anything, tries to implement and deliver it to its own public as much as possible. It is very important to respond to such threats and statements," he emphasizes.
The government, represented by Pashinyan, responded to Aliyev's threats.
He expressed his opinion in his interview, with his statements "Baku is trying to create "legitimacy" for escalation in the region."
"We don't talk about this often, but this seems like the truth. In recent days, the reports of the Ministry of Defense indicate that there are border violations. These statements do not exclude and make these possibilities more visible.
Pashinyan also talks about it, there is a grain of truth in it, everyone sees and understands it. The danger of Azerbaijan resorting to military aggression has never stopped, the only problem is the created environment, which can constrain and, on the contrary, create opportunities. for that.
On the one hand, they say that Azerbaijan is preparing for war, this can be the way to legitimize possible actions, on the other hand, they say that we are ready for peace, we are doing everything to achieve peace, this is our approach and policy have created an environment within the public, equating the word war with defeat.
With this response, a message is given that war is possible, and the next step will be that in order to avoid that possible war, we must make concessions.
Two ways are indicated: either we will have military operations, the result of which, according to the authorities, has already been decided (they have talked about it more than once), or we will have to make new concessions.
This is the policy and approach of the authorities to prepare the next concessions.
I mentioned that the authorities should react adequately in the case of a normal state, but it is not about such a reaction. that Azerbaijan can attack.
Pashinyan's interview did not respond in any way to the threats to Armenia. It was once again the formulation of their approach that they are ready to go for peace at any cost, they just have to state the price from there and will make concessions, as well as once again terrorize their own public that Azerbaijan is preparing for war. :
Yes, Azerbaijan is preparing for war, but the problem of the Armenian authorities is not to record that fact, but to carry out actions against it in the propaganda, information, military and diplomatic fields.
The last two may not be visible, but we should have seen clear steps in the first two, while we can state that the authorities are not doing anything," he concludes.Hermine Mkhitaryan.
Lusine Arakelyan
