Invasion is possible but Azerbaijan will try to avoid it, says political scientist 

Speaking with Alpha News, Russian political scientist Dmitry Zhuravlev commented on the possibility of opening the so-called “Zangezur corridor”.

“Azerbaijan has solved one set of tasks. Now there is a new set of tasks. As some problems are solved, other problems appear. Having defined new borders in relations with Armenia, it now provides these borders with infrastructure. That’s why talks about the Zangezur corridor have intensified again. This didn’t really matter until more basic agreements were signed. Now the significance has increased,” Zhuravlev said.

When asked about the possibility of a new escalation and invasion by Azerbaijan, the expert replied: “Technically, yes. But I think that today, when Azerbaijan considers itself a winner, it will try to avoid escalation.”

Commenting on Russia’s role in a potential conflict on the territory of Armenia in case of Azerbaijan’s invasion, Dmitry Zhuravlev noted that Russia will do everything possible to prevent a clash in the region, but its capabilities are nevertheless limited.

“At the very least, we will do everything that our Minister Lavrov spoke about at a press conference to prevent the conflict from escalating. But our capabilities today are limited. Because, in some sense, Armenia and Azerbaijan interact outside of the trilateral agreements. I’m not trying to blame anyone here, either side or the other. But in these conditions, we don’t have many capabilities. If it is assumed that two countries are reaching an agreement, it is not really impossible—it is rather difficult for us to influence this process.

As for the purely military side, while the mandate still exists, we will fulfill it. However, I believe that the mandate will end very soon because there is a new situation, and in the new situation, the mandate of our peacekeepers will end very quickly. Not by us, but by Azerbaijan first and foremost,” Zhuravlev concluded.