Monday, November 20 2023 12:46

ArmInfo.A turbulent situation has developed in the negotiation process between Armenia  and Azerbaijan on a peace treaty. Famous Armenian political scientist Suren Surenyants stated in a conversation with an ArmInfo correspondent.

According to him, very tough behind-the-scenes processes are taking  place when one center, represented by the West, wants to oust Russia  from the region, and Moscow, in turn, is making attempts to gain a  foothold in it.

In this situation, the political scientist continued, Russia, citing  Armenia as an example, blames the West for the current state of the  negotiation process, and the West, in turn, paying attention to the  position of Azerbaijan, makes claims against Russia.

As Surenyants emphasized, the latest harsh comments made not only by  the State Department, but also by the European Union, as well as by  Moscow, are a clear proof of that.

The political scientist stated that in the context of this  confrontation, Baku, through its actions and statements, makes it  clear to all international partners that it is ready for negotiations  with Yerevan, guided solely by its agenda. "Baku's requirements are  very concrete. In particular, we are talking about the activation of  the transport connection with the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhichevan,  otherwise it threatens to isolate Armenia completely. Baku also  insists on the return of Azerbaijanis to their places of residence in  Armenia during the Soviet years, which, according to the leadership  of the Republic of Azerbaijan, should be reflected in the peace  agreement.

A few days ago, the RFE/RL's Armenian service , with reference to an  unnamed high-ranking representative of the European Union, reported  on the possibility of a meeting between the leaders of Armenia and  Azerbaijan Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev in Brussels in December  of this year, with the participation of President of the European  Council Charles Michel, during which, as expected, the construction  of this transport route is expected to be discussed.  Surenyants  pointed out that if Pashinyan refuses to go to negotiations in  Moscow, this issue may be transferred to the European platform. At  the same time, no one is guaranteed that Azerbaijan will not refuse  this meeting, hoping with the help of the Europeans to convince  Yerevan of the feasibility of its initiatives," Surenyants said.

At the same time, he noted that this does not mean that Azerbaijan is  afraid of negotiations in Brussels or Washington, but Baku, based on  the favorable situation in the world for it, is making attempts to  strengthen its negotiating position.

The Azerbaijani authorities have already several times rejected  Western initiatives to hold summit meetings at their venues. One of  these manifestations was Baku's decision to refuse a meeting in  Washington after well-known statements from the Assistant Secretary  of State for European and Eurasian Affairs  of the US State  Department, James O'Brien, who on November 15, speaking during the  hearing "The Future of Nagorno-Karabakh" in the US House of  Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, said that the coming  weeks will be decisive for negotiations between Armenia and  Azerbaijan.  "The coming weeks will be extremely important in testing  the extent to which the parties are willing to go beyond good  intentions and say "yes". Because as we know, saying yes is the  hardest thing in negotiations," O'Brien said. "We have clearly stated  that relations with Azerbaijan after September 19 will not be normal  until we see progress in peace negotiations. For this reason, we  canceled several visits by high-ranking officials and condemned the  actions of Baku. Amendment 907, which prohibits military assistance  to Azerbaijan, will remain in force until the situation improves," he  said.

In turn, official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry  Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on the same day that Western  countries had a "beastly grip" on Armenia, trying to tear it away  from Russia.  According to her, Moscow is considering the latest  statements and steps of the Armenian authorities, including the  decision of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan not to participate in the  upcoming meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization  (CSTO) in Minsk, the expansion of supplies of Western weapons and the  "sudden friendship" of Yerevan with Kiev, as . At  the same time, she described the listed events as a "chain of  enslavement".