Baku’s responses to Armenia may change depending on external situation – Ara Poghosyan

Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan reported that Armenia has received a response from Azerbaijan regarding the peace agreement. “Proposals in other areas, such as unblocking channels and a mechanism for mutual control and verification of armaments, remain unanswered,” she said. Alpha News spoke with political scientist Ara Poghosyan on this topic.

“The answer that was received, in Baku’s opinion, is the most pragmatic. Baku has long voiced its answer regarding the ‘Crossroads of Peace’, stating that it is unacceptable for them and they want a corridor, also referring to paragraph 9 of the November 9, 2020 document. In fact, the Azerbaijani strategy in this regard was based on maximalist goals, and Baku seeks to get a corridor from Armenia in one way or another. Whatever the Armenian authorities say now, unfortunately, they have already admitted that this can be a corridor. This is an indirect admission, they can give this road one name and Baku another.

This means that misunderstandings may arise again between the parties, which the Armenian authorities do not rule out, and this is in the case when there should be no discrepancies in issues of such strategic importance. The meaning and substantive function of the peace agreement is that it should not have any double interpretations, it should represent clear and specific decisions with long-term goals,” the political scientist said.

According to Ara Poghosyan, the statements made recently at the state level of both Armenia and Azerbaijan are very similar.

“At the moment, Baku is not ready to make concessions on this issue and is seeking to obtain a corridor from Armenia. Recently, the responses coming from Baku and the responses sent from Armenia resemble some kind of protocol actions, by which both sides simply show their own society that there is a certain process aimed at solving some problems.

I am deeply convinced that this process has a completely clear solution, which is conditioned by clear, substantive negotiations between the parties and the status quo established in the region. It can be based either on maximalism or on the restoration of the military and political balance in the region,” Ara Poghosyan concluded.