Konstantin Kalachev: Baku will reject the signing of a non-aggression pact

Speaking with Alpha News, Russian political strategist Konstantin Kalachev commented on Armenia’s proposal to Azerbaijan to sign a non-aggression pact.

According to the expert, such statements indicate that there are problems on the way to signing a peace treaty.

“If such proposals are made, it means that there are problems on the way to reaching a peace agreement—on the way to signing a peace treaty. That is, it is clear that the signing is postponed, and Azerbaijan will reject such compromise solutions as the non-aggression pact. Baku will declare that not signing a peace treaty is a problem for the Armenian side and its opposition. The Armenian side said that Aliyev’s latest statement shows that Azerbaijan does not recognize Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and it should start by recognizing Armenia’s borders according to the latest Soviet maps.

Baku’s interest is to fully complete its tasks, which include not only the signing of a peace treaty but also the possibility of certain territorial acquisitions. This concerns the issue of the Zangezur corridor,” Kalachev said.

According to the political scientist, the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process has stalled.

“The peace process has stalled. The question is not who is the mediator and on which platform to negotiate. The question is in the content of the negotiations, in the approaches and the meanings. Azerbaijan, apparently, is not ready to recognize Armenia in its current form, as Armenia was depicted on late Soviet maps. The issue of border delimitation remains open. It is quite possible that Baku does not want to be bound to perform any obligations because the main thing that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wants from it is recognition that Armenia occupies a certain area in square kilometers, an area corresponding to late Soviet maps. Meanwhile, the only thing we have heard is that Azerbaijan recognizes Armenia’s sovereignty, but we do not have defined borders yet.

The second issue is the transport corridor, which Azerbaijan is trying to link with the peace treaty. Although it would be possible to consider these topics separately, that is, to sign a peace treaty and then discuss cooperation, interaction, opening borders, and transport corridors. But official Baku is not ready for this because it pursues its interests the way it sees them,” the expert concluded.