Aliyev’s statement on Lake Sevan is challenge to regional security – Pyotr Kolchin

Speaking with Alpha News, political scientist and military expert Pyotr Kolchin commented on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s statement that on Russian imperial maps there is no Lake Sevan, but rather Goycha, and that Azerbaijanis who lived in the Armenian SSR should return there not in tanks, but in cars.

“Aliyev is very consistent in his geopolitical ambitions. We see that the Azerbaijani leadership is very attentive to its PR campaign for ‘Western Azerbaijan,’ reinforcing it with sweeping statements, historical and pseudo-historical research, and other efforts to legitimize its claims. Sevan is only part of this larger campaign, and it is clear that this is far from the final stage. Aliyev senses Azerbaijan’s potential, continues to strengthen the country’s army, develops military cooperation with Turkey and other NATO countries, backing the ideology of ‘Western Azerbaijan’ with real military capabilities,” Kolchin said.

According to the expert, all of this is a challenge to overall regional security.

“The Armenian leadership’s silence in response to such attacks weakens Yerevan’s diplomatic capabilities and is becoming a serious problem for Armenian diplomacy. We see that Pashinyan’s team is trying to ignore Baku’s overtly militaristic narratives in favor of its own ideas of peace, which, according to the Armenian Prime Minister, began with the Washington agreements. However, the geopolitical reality today is far removed from these agreements—and Lake Sevan could be followed by new claims,” Kolchin concluded.