Azerbaijan’s new statement is provocative — Pyotr Kolchin

Speaking with Alpha News, military expert Pyotr Kolchin commented on the statement by assistant to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev that serious restrictions should be applied to Armenia’s military buildup policy.

“Even though Armenia’s foreign policy is currently very unpredictable and unstable, such statements by Azerbaijani officials are, of course, largely provocative. They use completely incorrect comparisons with World War II and Iraq. All this cannot be applied in any way to the relations between Baku and Yerevan. The statement by the assistant to the President of Azerbaijan cannot be regarded in any way other than as a political attack. To regard Armenia as an aggressor country and an occupier country are big words with propaganda overtones. All this may be a preparation for the next round of talks, in which Yerevan’s positions may already be weaker,” Kolchin said.

According to the military expert, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s focus on cooperation with the West does not pay off.

“Armenia’s attempts to distance itself from the CSTO undermine its diplomatic position. And, of course, in the future, such an approach may negatively affect the entire normalization process between Baku and Yerevan. Pashinyan’s bet on cooperation with the West does not pay off, and Armenia will remain one-on-one with Baku. Russia continues to make important constructive influences on the situation in the region and somewhat constrains Azerbaijan in its decisions,” Kolchin concluded.