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Qabil Ashirov

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On August 22, the head of the separatist regime in Garabagh Arayik Harutyunyan, said at the so-called meeting of the security council that a decision had been made to trade through the Aghdam-Khankendi road (with Azerbaijan). However, he did not say where and by whom the decision had been made.

According to the Armenian media outlets, the leader of the separatists said that products such as construction materials, fuel, and medicine would be delivered from Aghdam, but food would be delivered via the Lachin-Khankendi road.

As for gas and electricity supplies, he noted that this issue would be discussed at a later stage. He also added that gas and electricity would be purchased from Azerbaijan.

To recall, before the so-called meeting of the security council, Ruben Vardanyan put strong pressure on Harutyunyan and requested his resignation. Even the rumors about Harutyunyan’s resignation circulated in the Armenian mass media. However, it is said that after the intervention of the armed groups created by Harutyunyan after the war, he stated that he would not resign.

Thus, this information caused a great interest in Azerbaijani society, and to find out what is going on in Khankendi, Azernews learned political analyst Elkhan Shahinoglu's opinion. The expert said that Armenians have run out of alternatives.

“After the second Karabakh war, the Armenians in Karabakh have no alternative but to fulfill the demands and conditions of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan liberated a large part of the occupied territories and soon it will restore the control over the small part that remains in the hands of the separatists. So, cargoes can also enter Azerbaijan not through Lachin, but through the road shown by us. Therefore, they have no alternatives but the Aghdam-Khankendi road. There is also the matter of meeting at Barda,” Elkhan Shahinoglu added.

He pointed out that Armenians tried to put international pressure on Azerbaijan, but they failed. Even they could not get anything from the UN Security Council. Now, they understand that they have two options, either they will accept the condition of Azerbaijan or will face the harsh reality.

“That is, they understand that they could not organize international pressure on Azerbaijan, and this is not possible at all. No document against us was accepted at the UN. Therefore, they understand that they have only one option - to accept the conditions and demands of Azerbaijan. Otherwise, an anti-terrorist operation will be the only solution, and this possibility is also high because they do not stop provocations. Now, the course of events indicates that they should logically take the path of dialogue with Azerbaijan. They discussed the opening of Aghdam Road [among themselves]. Our demands remain on the agenda. I believe that if they do not want to face an anti-terrorist operation, they should accept our conditions. In the near future, they should also accept to live by the laws of Azerbaijan. Otherwise, if they refuse to live under the laws of Azerbaijan, the only alternative will be to leave the territories of Azerbaijan. Just like many Armenians who no longer want under the Azerbaijani laws abandon Azerbaijan from Lachin border crossing point,” Elkhan Shahinoglu noted.

To recall, Ruben Vardanyan is an Armenian billionaire who made his fortune in Russia in the 1990s. When the Ukrainian war broke out, Ruben Vardanyan denounced his Russian citizenship and went to Garabagh to avoid the sanctions that the Western countries imposed on Russian oligarchs. Later, he was parachuted into the so-called state minister (some kind of prime minister) in a separatist regime in November 2022 by Russia. At that time, many believed that Russia would repeat its well-known scenario, and like Robert Kocherian, he would replace the head of separatists Arayik Harutyunyan and at the end of the day would be the PM of Armenia. However, due to Azerbaijan's pressure, Ruben Vardanyan was dismissed in February 2023.

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

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