This is nonsense – Andrey Nikulin on Azerbaijan’s statement about restrictions on Armenia’s armed forces

Speaking with Alpha News, political scientist Andrey Nikulin commented on the statement of Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev that the international community should apply restrictions on the development of Armenia’s armed forces.

“This is nonsense. This kind of news comes up regularly. Azerbaijan demands constitutional changes, Azerbaijan demands a decision on borders. This comes as a kind of behind-the-scenes game, bargaining in connection with the possible signing of a peace treaty between the countries. So, Azerbaijan continues to press, reminding Armenia of the imbalance. This does not mean that Armenia will be forced in any way, because in this case Armenia can be forced only by bringing in troops and winning a real war. No one expects this, simply because the consequences for Azerbaijan in the form of international isolation will be very expensive. For more than a year now, there has been a process of behind-the-scenes bargaining about a peace treaty, border demarcation, transportation corridors, and many other things. This is a behind-the-scenes process to somehow spur or solve some emerging issues. That is why Azerbaijan regularly makes such sharp remarks,” Nikulin said.