Armenian authorities ‘pursue different approaches’ to Karabakh peace – expert

Armenia’s current government pursues three essentially different approaches to the unsettled Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) conflict, an expert in Azerbaijani studies said today, commenting upon the prime minister’s statements made since his early days in office.

Speaking at a news conference, Angela Elibegova referred particularly to Nikol Pashinyan’s call for the country’s return to the negotiating table, his thesis proclaiming Artsakh an integral part of Armenia (“Artsakh is Armenia - period”) and proposal for arriving at a universally acceptable solution “satisfying both Armenia and Artsakh, and the population of Azerbaijan”.

“What matters essentially now is to clarify which thesis we are choosing as a guideline to elaborate a propaganda package on. If we are opting for Artsakh’s unification with Armenia, [we need to bear in mind] Azerbaijan’s statement ruling out any alternative to war operations,” she noted.

The expert also shared her concerns over Ilham Aliyev’s remark saying “Karabakh is Azerbaijan and an exclamation mark”. Describing the Azerbaijani leader’s statement (voiced at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, Russia) as a new thesis in the information warfare, Elibegova said she sees the strong-worded language "taking shape little by little". She cited the repeatedly held conferences and parliamentary hearings in Azerbaijan, noting that the country’s Ministry of Defense has perceived the problem as kind of imperative. Elibegova said she also knows that Azerbaijani community has called upon their youth to join the initiative “to internationalize the issue.”

“A new concept is developing, which I am sure Azerbaijan will by all means present to the international community. The concern deals with our position, i.e. – the way we are going to pursue our propaganda. In the current state of affairs, we have a predictable scenario from Azerbaijan, whereas we cannot say the same when it comes Armenia’s official position,” Elibegova added.

Commenting on the recently held talks between the Turkish and Azerbaijani leaders, the expert highlighted several key theses, which she said are essentially dangerous. She drew attention particularly to Aliyev’s statement describing Turkey and Azerbaijan as “two countries but a single people”, as well as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s response promising unity and gratitude to Azerbaijan for backing its offensives in Syria.

According to the expert, the Azerbaijani leader promised similar military operations also of the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.