Ara Poghosyan: Azerbaijan hopes to weaken Armenia’s viability

After the meeting between Pashinyan, Blinken, and von der Leyen, Azerbaijan is trying to emphasize its importance, political scientist Ara Poghosyan told Alpha News.

“Turkey expressed concern that the trilateral meeting was unfair, since Azerbaijan remained outside of this process, or that it was an attempt to remove Azerbaijan from processes and regional developments. This means that Azerbaijan will do everything to remind the West of its importance in the South Caucasus, especially at this stage. At the same time, the Baku dictator often reminds everyone that after the 44-day war, the status quo in the South Caucasus has changed, and now Azerbaijan is one of the states that determines policy in the region, and Azerbaijan must also participate and have a decisive voice in any issue that will be discussed in connection with the South Caucasus.

At this stage, Aliyev especially emphasizes that it is impossible to reach any agreement on the region without the participation of Azerbaijan,” Poghosyan said.

The political scientist noted that special calls from officials of the United States and the European Union were significant for Ilham Aliyev, since these calls emphasized his importance in the region.

“They called Aliyev and assured him that the meeting was not anti-Azerbaijani. This was significant for Azerbaijan since its importance in the region was once again emphasized. This has become an ace up Azerbaijan’s sleeve with which it will periodically emphasize its importance in the region, including by provoking border clashes and, from time to time, resorting to provocations at various border points. Azerbaijan is trying to show that any investment in Armenia will not be safe if an agreement is not reached. In this way, Aliyev is trying to have leverage over Armenia and periodically use it. By using this leverage, Azerbaijan hopes to weaken the viability of Armenia. Azerbaijan’s demands regarding the four border villages are no coincidence since they are of strategic importance,” Poghosyan concluded.