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Qabil Ashirov

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Armenia continues to play an ambiguous game. On one hand, the Prime Minister of the country solemnly announces on TV that he recognizes Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, including Garabagh. On the other hand, he plays a number of games to delay signing a document about the recognition of the Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. Besides, the separatists in Garabagh appoint David Ishkhanyan as the new president of the so-called "parliament". Moreover, the President of the Armenian Parliament Alen Simonyan, and the head of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia Catholicos Aram I congratulate Ishkhanyan on the occasion of being the "president of parliament."

In fact, such behavior of PM Pashinyan, who leads Armenia, is understandable. It is not worth hoping that the prime minister, who has influence neither with Russia nor the separatists in Garabagh, will have any capability to eliminate the ongoing chaos in Khankend. Georgian political analyst Gela Vasadze, who agrees with these views, expressed similar views in his comment to AZERNEWS.

“Actually, the separatists in Garabagh still consider themselves an “independent” state, therefore, for Ishkhanyan, Pashinyan’s words about recognizing the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan have no gravity. In fact, the current de facto authorities of Garabagh are much more dependent and prone to listen to the opinion of Moscow than to the opinion of Yerevan. Moreover, they use these moments to put pressure on Pashinyan in the domestic policy,” Vasadze said.

The political expert opined that the congratulations sent by the President of the Armenian Parliament and the religious figure carry formal characteristic. According to Gela, Simonyan's congratulatory message completely contradicts Pashinyan's statement regarding the recognition of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. Azerbaijan knows very well that this statement is not meant for Armenia's foreign policy, but for its internal auditorium. If Simonyan had not made such a statement, Pashinyan's administration would have been pressured by the opposition from within.

He also touched on Pashinyan’s recognition of the Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and underscored that it was no more than empty words. Being aware of this, Azerbaijan takes proper steps.

“In fact, the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is recognized only in words. And this is well understood in Baku, and therefore Baku takes measures to change the situation. Whether the use of force is appropriate in this case is also up to Baku to decide, but from my point of view, there are much more serious issues, for example, the issue of disarmament of armed formations in Garabagh or issues of cargo logistics and infrastructure support for the Armenian minority in Garabagh through the option as proposed by Azerbaijan,” Gela Vasadze said.

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Qabil Ashirov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @g_Ashirov

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