Tuesday, August 2 2022 14:18

ArmInfo. Baku, aggravating the situation on the border, is first of all trying to force Yerevan to sign the so-called peace treaty, of course, on its own terms, which  implies Armenia's renunciation of Artsakh and a number of other  concessions. Former MP, expert on Azerbaijan issues Tatevik  Hayrapetyan expressed a similar opinion to ArmInfo.

On August 1, starting at 9:00am, Azerbaijani units launched a  provocation in a number of sections of the northern and northwestern  border zone of the Republic of Artsakh, , attempting to cross the  line of contact, which were suppressed by the forces of the Defense  Army. There are no positional and human losses on the Armenian side,  but there is one wounded soldier. "The situation in all directions of  the line of contact is stable. Gandzasar is located 100 km from the  border. I urge you to follow the official information," said Vitaly  Balasanyan, Secretary of the Artsakh Republic Security Council.

"Due to the lack of information, we do not know what is actually  being said during the negotiations.  However, socio-political  discourses as a whole demonstrate the general direction and course of  the current negotiations. Baku excludes consideration of any status  of Artsakh, in response to which Yerevan makes evasive statements.  And the pressure in the form of shots at the border is due to the  haste of Azerbaijan.  They understand that the election campaign will  begin in Turkey very soon and Ankara, to put it mildly, will be busy  with its own issues and not with Baku," she stressed. At the same  time, the expert emphasized the obvious anti-Russian sentiments and  dissatisfaction with Russia that are consistently growing in  Azerbaijan. She explains the latter by the presence of Russian  peacekeepers in Artsakh and their reluctance to leave from there,  repeatedly confirmed, at least at the expert level.  According to  Hayrapetyan, the latter indicates the need to preserve the Armenian  population of Artsakh, while Azerbaijan sleeps and sees the  emigration of Artsakh Armenians, which will allow Baku to achieve the  withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers. Since the only reason for their  stay in Artsakh is to protect the population from the threat of  ethnic cleansing from Azerbaijan.  

"I am convinced that the propaganda campaign in Azerbaijan against  the Russian Federation will only intensify as 2025 approaches, the  deadline for the completion of the Russian peacekeeping mission  according to the Statement of November 9, 2020. This will also be  reflected in Moscow's relations with Baku. Especially against the  backdrop of the Ukrainian workload of Russia based on which Moscow  will not "stroke Baku the wrong way". But I do not think that Russia  will be able to appease Azerbaijan with such curtsy or concessions at  the expense of Armenia. The only way to achieve this goal is  intensive and coordinated work to improve the level of Armenia's  security system. Only this will prevent the opening of a second front  against Russia, this time in Artsakh," the expert summed up.