Aliyev’s threats are made to build image of nation’s savior before election, expert says

Andrey Chuprygin, senior lecturer at the Russian HSE University and RIAC expert, commented to Alpha News on the threats of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev against Armenia.

According to the expert, Ilham Aliyev makes such statements before the snap election to build the image of a defender of his motherland.

“Aliev’s threats are explained by the fact that he has elections soon and he needs to shape his image as the defender of the motherland, so he is pushing this topic. However, the escalation of a new conflict is possible in any situation because there is no agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and this means a real possibility of starting some local actions that could further lead to escalation. But we can hope that this will not happen, because by and large Aliyev has fulfilled the tasks that he set for himself today and, of course, he would not complain,” the expert said.

“Any person who runs for office is worried, no matter how authoritarian he is, because it may well turn out that he will not be elected. So, now, before the election, he needs to take some actions towards the population. He wants to maintain the image of the savior of the nation, who cares about all the interests of the Azerbaijani people without exception,” Chuprygin concluded.