Azernews.Az

By Vafa Ismayilova

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's latest statement that Armenia is ready to resume peace talks with Azerbaijan to "resolve the Karabakh conflict" and that he expects specific proposals from the OSCE Minsk Group has provoked an unambigous reaction by different experts.

The Armenian prime minister's remarks are seen as insincere since experts believe that Yerevan's previous expansionist plans have not changed at all and they are simply being adapted to the current military and political situation.

Insincere peacemaker

In an interview with Sputnik Azerbaijan, editor-in-chief of the National Defence magazine Igor Korotchenko said that Pashinyan is trying to play the role of a peacemaker.

In his opinion, "this is an attempt by the Armenian leader to somehow take the initiative into his own hands, while Yerevan's goals remain the same - the Armenian side wants to legitimize the illegal separatist entity, the remnants of which are still present on the Azerbaijani territory".

Commenting on his message to the OSCE Minsk Group, the expert asked: "Which Minsk Group? The war is over. There can be no status and negotiations on the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh republic in principle".

Korotchenko stressed that Pashinyan's statement is a smokescreen. He stressed that Yerevan's previous expansionist plans have not changed at all, they are simply being adapted to the current military-political situation.

He noted that Pashinyan avoids fulfilling the November 10, 2020 trilateral statement and is trying to involve the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in the process to strengthen Armenia's political positions. However, Korotchenko recalled that CSTO Secretary-General Stanislav Zas clearly stated that what is happening on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border is nothing more than a border conflict, and it is necessary to look for a political solution.

"But Pashinyan does not want the process of delimitation and demarcation of the border, does not want the implementation of the Zangazur transport corridor project. But most importantly, he still has not fulfilled the basic obligations undertaken within the framework of the trilateral statements: the withdrawal of all Armenian illegal armed formations from the [Azerbaijani] zone where Russian peacekeepers are deployed," the expert said.

He reiterated that "sabotage and terrorist potential has been and remains there [on territories under Russian peacekeepers' control], moreover, the Armenian military can commit provocations".

"Therefore, I would not trust Pashinyan's statements. He is an experienced cunning politician," the expert stressed.

Korotchenko recalled that when Pashinyan says that he is waiting for some proposals, he for some reason forgets that Baku has already made all the necessary proposals to Yerevan. Namely - to sign a peace treaty, to recognize each other's territorial integrity, to begin the delimitation and demarcation of borders.

"He was offered to sign a peace treaty at least three times. What else? Let him sit down and sign. But he doesn't want to do this," the expert added.

Korotchenko said that the fact is that, in practical terms, Yerevan responded to Baku's proposals with a new round of armed provocations and after that Pashinyan tries to play a peacemaker and says that he is waiting for some proposals.

He noted that the peace treaty with Azerbaijan will tackle all problems and transfer the situation in the region to a completely new stage of development.

Mask of "constructive" negotiator

Meanwhile, Akbar Hasanov from Baku-based news website Day.az also downplayed the essence of Pashinyan's remarks.

"As we see, Pashinyan is trying to cross out all the agreements [trilateral ceasefire deal] under which he signed, putting on the mask of a 'constructive' negotiator and flirting with the United States and France through a proposal to revive the OSCE Minsk Group," Hasanov said.

The commentator underlined that "Armenia refuses to follow paragraph 1 of the trilateral statement, which says 'a complete ceasefire and all hostilities in the conflict zone from 0000 Moscow time on November 10, 2020'. Alas, until now the Armenian armed formations are on the Azerbaijani territory, temporarily controlled by Russian peacekeepers".

Hasanov added that the Armenian Foreign Ministry is already openly trying to interprete the trilateral statement of November 10 quite freely.

"Armenia has not yet issued all the maps of the minefields. It refuses to take specific steps on the mutual recognition of borders, which implies amending the Constitution of Armenia that enshrines territorial claims against Azerbaijan and Turkey. Against the background of all this, Pashinyan's statements are worth absolutely nothing. This is a primitive 'trick with the ears', nothing more," Day.az commentator said.

He added that the very course of events proved the senselessness of the OSCE Minsk Group's existence as it failed to resolve the conflict for decades.

"The co-chair countries were interested in the existence of this conflict. They indulged the occupying country without putting any political pressure on Armenia, without imposing sanctions against it. They used the fact of occupation of a fifth of our lands to put pressure on Azerbaijan," Hasanov said.

He said that the mediator countries were satisfied with the status quo, without contributing in any way to the main thing - the restoration of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.

Azerbaijan solved the problem on its own, within the framework of international law, thanks to the mobilization of diplomatic, economic, military efforts to force the aggressor to peace, the commentator stressed.

"The Azerbaijani army has done in 44 days what the United States, Russia and France could not do in decades of senseless negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group. The outcome of the war made the existence of such a structure as the OSCE Minsk Group meaningless," he said.

Hasanov recalled unimpartiality displayed by the United States and France during and after the last year's war.

"They supported Armenia in one way or another. France was especially insolent, whose president made many false accusations against our country, without citing a single proof of what was said. We also saw how French deputies of different levels supported Armenia, demanding the imposition of sanctions against ... Azerbaijan. That is, there were no sanctions against the occupying country, but there were demands to introduce them against the victim country," the commentator said.

Changing rhetoric

In an interview with the local media, political analyst Elkhan Shahinoglu drew attention to the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry's August 11 statement urging Russian peacekeepers temporarily deployed on the Azerbaijani territory to end the illegal stationing of Armenian troops in areas under its control.

"First, the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry openly stated... that Russia is creating conditions for the transfer of Armenian servicemen and ammunition to Karabakh, and the creation of new posts on this territory. As I remember, for the first time, we openly expressed our dissatisfaction with the policy pursued by Moscow and the Russian peacekeepers' actions," he said.

Moreover, the Russian and Armenian defence ministers met in Moscow on the same day, he recalled.

Shahinoglu believes that the Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu's description of Armenia as Russia's main strategic ally in the region and his statement that Russia will continue to arm Yerevan, modernizing the Armenian army "can also be regarded as an encouragement to Armenia from Russia".

"Meanwhile, Yerevan is in no hurry to fulfill the points of the trilateral agreement of November 10, 2020, to express its position on the creation of the Zangazur corridor, to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. It avoids discussions with Baku on issues related to the delimitation and demarcation of the state border. And Russia, in turn, is in no hurry to put pressure on Yerevan," the expert said.

Commenting on Pashinyan's latest statement on friendship, peace, regional cooperation, demarcation of borders and the need to open transport corridors, he stresseed that the latter said nothing new.

"Let's not be deceived by Pashinyan's words. He did not say anything new. Pashinyan expressed similar views a few months after the war, but soon changed his rhetoric. It is necessary to look not at Pashinyan's statements, but at the steps he has taken and will take. We expect him to say that 'Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan' - this is the main thing," Shahinoglu said in remarks he shared on his Facebook page.

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