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Political analyst: Armenia not ready for constructive negotiations

14 November 2019 17:13 (UTC+04:00)
Political analyst: Armenia not ready for constructive negotiations

By Trend

The statement made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during the Paris Peace Forum, as well as the absurd statements of the Armenian leadership testify that the Armenian side does not want the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to be resolved, at least in the short and medium term, political analyst, professor, doctor of South Korea’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Rovshan Ibrahimov told Trend.

“This proceeds from the fact that the Armenian new government is not ready to respond to the Armenian internal challenges and the reaction of the Armenian diaspora in the US as the relations between the new Armenian authorities and the Armenian diaspora are at the initial stage of development,” the professor added.

"Presently, the Armenian new government is not ready to conduct constructive negotiations as it has not yet strengthened its positions within the country,” Ibrahimov said. “Moreover, the relations between the Armenian current authorities and the self-proclaimed "authorities" of Nagorno-Karabakh are not at the proper level. Armenia’s new authorities deal exclusively with populist statements to gain time.”

“On the whole, the Azerbaijani side never denied the possible contact and dialogue with the representatives of the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh,” the professor said. “The Azerbaijani side even proposed a format in which the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of Nagorno-Karabakh can hold meetings and consider all kinds of issues.”

“However, this format did not attract due attention and in every way was pushed aside by the Armenian side,” Ibrahimov said. “By the way, Azerbaijan even has an institutionalized representative office of the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh and it is ready to conduct a dialogue with the Armenian community.”

Regarding Pashinyan’s statement that people with Armenian surnames are forbidden to visit Azerbaijan, Ibrahimov stressed that it cuts both ways.

"On the one hand, taking into account that the Azerbaijani society still remembers the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, no one can give a guarantee against undesirable consequences as a result of the visit of the individuals with Armenian surnames,” the professor added.

“On the other hand, this is a direct threat to Azerbaijan’s security,” Ibrahimov said. “Everybody knows that Azerbaijan faced a number of terrorist acts committed with the aid of the Armenians in the 1990s. In this context, one can recall the explosions in the subway when dozens of people died. And in general, the Armenians are traditionally known for their terrorist actions. Therefore, the prevention of unauthorized visits by the Armenians to Azerbaijan is quite justified.”

“Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani embassy in Russia has reiterated that if Russian citizens with Armenian surnames want to visit Azerbaijan, it is advisable to notify the Azerbaijani embassy in Moscow or the consular missions in the Russian Federation in advance," the professor said.

In conclusion, Ibrahimov reminded about UK’s BBC HARDtalk radio program broadcast. HARDtalk presenter Stephen Sackur exposed his guest, Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan’s inconsistency when he talked about the Armenian approaches to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"Mnatsakanyan could not adequately answer the presenter’s acute questions regarding Armenia’s readiness for peace talks if the leadership of this country makes defiant statements about its claims to Nagorno-Karabakh region,” the professor added. “I think that this interview hit the image of the Armenian authorities greatly if they try to put a brave face on a sorry business and talk about restoration of the status quo and try to describe Armenia to the world as a peace-loving and constructive country, which is actually a very disputable issue."

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