“I can’t say now whether Pashinyan or Kocharyan is better for us.” Z:

In the context of the election struggle, Nikol Pashinyan is trying to convince that if he and his political force do not win, there will be a war, and his political opponents counter that he is the one who brought the war, and that they will not cancel the TRIPP project if they come to power, it is another question that it is possible that different guarantors will be included, certain risky moments will be neutralized.

Moreover, Pashinyan’s opponents are ready to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, to restore the occupied territories of Armenia only through negotiations, but not to change the constitution under the compulsion of Azerbaijan, which is one of Baku’s main conditions for signing the final peace agreement today. And Nikol Pashinyan takes this circumstance into account, but in no way wants to give up the title of peacemaker.

Մարտի 20-ին ֆեյսբուքյան ուղիղ եթերի ժամանակ, ըստ էության, առաջին անգամ Փաշինյանը խոսել է իր կողմից բանակցված փաստաթղթի հնարավոր փոփոխության մասին, ինչը ևս համարել է պատերազմաբեր:

“Even if we go with the most optimistic forecast to reopen the established peace, means to create an opportunity to transform all the content that we finally fixed as a result of the negotiation process. On a theoretical level, we can consider that this content can become better, but on the same theoretical level, this content can become worse. But it is much more likely that this content can completely collapse. As this simple, most neutral statistical enumeration shows, it is two against one. There is one chance that the content can get better, and there are two chances that the content can get worse. In either case, the logic of development leads to war. We must record this very clearly,” Pashinyan stated.

Can we say that for Pashinyan it is not so much peace and its establishment that is important, but that it is through his hands that which Pashinyan considers to be established on the one hand, and vulnerable on the other hand. Various circles close to the Azerbaijani authorities also are of the opinion that, yes, the peace agenda is established, but it is not irreversible, and a lot depends on the outcome of the Armenian National Assembly elections.

And the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Tofik Zulfugarov, does not attribute the establishment of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan only to the person of Pashinyan.

In recent days he has several interview gave In particular, vesti.azZulfugarov said in a conversation with

“And when we start asking who is the most beneficial for us, to be honest, I don’t quite understand why we need it. Yes, we have to monitor the situation, work with the whole political spectrum and neutralize any potential risks, that’s obvious. But I am not ready to say whether Pashinyan is better or Kocharyan is better. Even if we imagine that Kocharyan comes to power, and what will fundamentally change it, what will they start a war with us, with what forces, what resources, how will they take Karabakh, they do not have such an opportunity. And Russia is not going to do it for them, as it was in the early 90s.”

Here it is clear: on the one hand, the former minister of foreign affairs of Azerbaijan is showing “political arrogance” that Azerbaijan did not leave a chance for Armenia to go for revanchism or a space for such steps, on the other hand, Zulfugarov negates Pashinyan’s claims that the establishment of Yerevan-Baku peace is due solely to him. Although the question is whether under a different government they can think about the realization of long-term goals related to Syunik.

However, in this context, the Azerbaijani politician considered it necessary to emphasize that ensuring unhindered communication between the main part of Azerbaijan and the Autonomous Republic of Nakhichevan remains an important issue for Baku.

“We accept that Zangezur is currently de facto under the control of Azerbaijan. And if Armenia does not provide the necessary conditions and communications, Azerbaijan, considering this as its key geopolitical issue, will continue to strive for the implementation of the “Zangezur Corridor”, whether it will be within the framework of the TRIPP project, the document of November 10, or within the framework of any other format, that is, the question remains open.– emphasized Zulfugarov, essentially proving that Syunik considers Baku de jure its own, and that the TRIPP project is an Armenian-American document in which Baku is not a direct party, but has a decisive say in the process of its implementation. In the mentioned interview, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan alluded to this. Moreover, he made it clear that Baku did not back down from the “Western Azerbaijan” political plan either. In other words, it is Azerbaijan that maintains the grounds for provoking a war, which Pashinyan does not try to see in any way.

And Zulfugarov did not ignore the Pashinyan-Putin meeting and its results either, noting that he witnessed a “professional staged theater”, and a bilateral one at that. According to him, Pashinyan went to get support from Russia before the RA NA elections, and that, by and large, he meets the main demands of Russia, which are presented to Armenia.

“Putin knew very well about Samvel Karapetyan’s dual citizenship, as for “Russia’s official friend, friend” Robert Kocharyan, the Russian side has a serious dissatisfaction with him for a long time, especially if we remember the events in the RA parliament (he means October 27 – M.P.). Since then, he has lost his previous level of trust… Pashinyan, with his current relationship with Russia, will be elected and continue the course he has been on for 8 years, sitting on two chairs,” predicted Zulfugarov, implying that Pashinyan remains under Russian influence.

Maybe there is an element of truth here, on the other hand, we should not forget that Russia and the CSTO do not forget Pashinyan’s decision to recall CSTO General Secretary Yuri Khachaturov, which faced difficult problems for the organization. And Baku proves through a former official that it is important for him to establish peace not only with Pashinyan, but also with RA, Armenian society.

—