"Fact" daily writes:
We have talked several times with political scientist Stepan Hasan-Jalalyan about the Azerbaijani-Artsakh problem, the policy of Armenia. He always emphasized that it is dangerous and will lead to more catastrophic consequences, which happened in 2023: "I have always spoken in the context of the Azerbaijani-Artsakh problem, other specialists have spoken in the context of other problems. But nothing changes. Did our words have any effect on Nicole's policies? Didn't have. Now he is talking about the "Crossroads of Peace". What that person says has no value to me in any way. I have said one thing and now I repeat it: the further tenure of that person will jeopardize the service of our national and state interests and will mostly contribute to the service of the interests of the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem in the South Caucasus region, whatever is happening. You want to name it "Crossroads of Peace", you want to name it "Circle of Peace", whatever you want to name it.
Nothing will change from that. Interpreting that person's words is no longer a thankless task. He has an emphatic manner. he says something, then he says: did I say something like that, or did I not say that? It is just a disaster that such a person is at the helm of the Republic of Armenia. Regarding the Artsakh issue, this person said: we negotiate whatever we want. The situation is the same now. he negotiates whatever he wants. But let me remind you that in 2018 he said: dear people, if there is any solution to the Artsakh issue that I consider acceptable, realistic, etc., I will come to Republic Square and say: this is the situation, which way are we going now? You will say we are going this way, we will go, you will say we are not going, we will not go. But, contrary to that, not having the authority of the elected administration of Artsakh Armenians, on November 9, 2020, the Republic of Artsakh signed a document on handing over the constitutionally fixed territories to the enemy," says Hasan-Jalalyan in a conversation with "Past". He emphasizes that if he had practical resources at his disposal, he would take measures to remove that person from power. "But I still don't have those funds. In this way, I address the people who are sympathetic to the future of the Republic of Armenia. so that, God forbid, what happened to the Republic of Artsakh does not happen to Armenia, to take practical measures to remove Nikol Pashinyan from power as soon as possible. Today it is imperative for us to remove Nikol Pashinyan from power. According to official data, the enemy has occupied 200 square kilometers of the territory of our country. This man says we have no intention of bringing it back militarily. This may mean that Ilham is informed that you can take more territory, we will not return it by military means, we will try to return it by peaceful means. And history has not recorded a single case when a Turk or his Caucasian counterpart, the so-called Azerbaijani, returned a millimeter of land to an Armenian in a peaceful way. There is no such case in history. It is not enough that the enemy has occupied strategic heights, one more thing is that he has a dominant position from there over the settlements, communication channels, and roads behind us. In this case, discussing "Crossroads of Peace" is out of date. Nikol Pashinyan's government is an existential threat to the Armenian people living in the Republic of Armenia," our interlocutor notes. On the other hand, we have a literally "boiling" region. Israel (and not only Israel) wants by all means to involve our southern neighbor Iran in military operations. According to the political scientist, Azerbaijan will not dare to attack Iran. "I am not a specialist in the military field, but, nevertheless, the Iranian army is superior to the Azerbaijani army by various standards. In this sense, he hardly dares to attack a country like Iran. I would like to connect the current events with the Azerbaijani-Artsakh conflict. I cannot claim that giving Artsakh to Azerbaijan was completely by the will or agreement of the political leadership of Artsakh and Armenia. An atmosphere was created in the international arena and it was made so that Azerbaijan could dominate Artsakh, moreover, I think that for the leader of Azerbaijan it was in some way a dream that he achieved these results with regard to Artsakh. But the main problem was actually , so that Israel can use those areas as a platform to have its military presence there. There is information that, for example, Israel has a military presence in the Jarakan area. Of course, he denies it, Azerbaijan also says that there is no such thing. It is possible that this is directed against Iran itself. I do not think that Azerbaijan will attack Iran on its own initiative, with its weapons and armed forces. That area can be used more by Israel in order to strike at Iran," adds the political scientist. Armenia is in the center of events and now, it seems, feels more the physical absence of Artsakh as a rear. "Artsakh served as a shield for the north-eastern borders of the Republic of Armenia. In order for the north-eastern borders of Armenia to be strong and protected, that shield should not be allowed to bend and then fall. It was allowed, and the shield buckled and fell. The north-eastern borders of Armenia have been exposed to the enemy. In this sense, those borders have now become more vulnerable. The enemy was several hundred kilometers away from the parts of Gegharkunik, Syunik, Vayots Dzor, now that distance has reached several meters. The enemy is standing a few meters away from the settlements of the Republic of Armenia. Now we are evaluating the value of Artsakh. Now I want to address my words also to those parents, people who for years also held rallies in front of the Central Military Assembly Station, asking why our children should serve in Artsakh. Oh, they had to serve for this. Residents of Gegharkunik, Syunik, Vayots Dzor marz have been able to sleep peacefully at night without locking the doors of their houses for 2530 years. We all remember how the Turk entered Syunik last year and killed the guard of the Zangezur copper-molybdenum plant. Before 2018, was there any such incident in the last 25 years? Now we all feel on our skin what role Artsakh played. Artsakh was ready to take the first blow and prevent the enemy from reaching the north-eastern borders of Armenia. The policy of the administration can be criticized, but in this case, I also address the people who raised the question why their children should serve in Artsakh," concludes political scientist Stepan Hasan-Jalalyan. LUSINE ARAKELYAN
