What looks like peace to Azerbaijan
The French military supplies to Armenia has sparked a fresh uproar in Baku. Panorama.am on Monday discussed the matter with MP Tigran Abrahamyan, the secretary of the opposition Pativ Unem faction and a member of the Armenian National Assembly Standing Committee on Defense and Security.
Panorama.am: Mr. Abrahamyan, Azerbaijan claims that France has delivered military equipment to Armenia via Georgia. Are these reports credible?
Also, Azerbaijan believes the supplies of what they call armored vehicles to Armenia pose a threat to the imaginary peace.
What functions do armored vehicles have that can pose a direct threat to Azerbaijan? After all, they are not even artillery...
Tigran Abrahamyan: Given the various memorandums and statements regarding military cooperation between Armenia and France, these reports, naturally, cannot be dismissed in any way. Moreover, the statements of Armenia and France at the official level show that we will witness new arms deliveries in the near future as well.
In addition to its repeated threats to use force, Azerbaijan is trying its best to prevent military supplies from different countries to Armenia or slow down such processes. Meanwhile, the biggest threat in the region is Azerbaijan, which, at least in recent years, has clearly proved it. And in this case, if we are going to look for a source of war or instability, we should, first of all, consider Azerbaijan and Turkey as such.
It’s Azerbaijan and its ally Turkey that are seeking and provoking war in the region. Thus, Azerbaijan’s statements on arming the other regional countries and their cooperation with different countries are solely aimed at blocking the military supplies.
I think it’s quite obvious even for the international community that it is Azerbaijan that always provokes war.
Panorama.am: “Armenia and France must discontinue their policy of armament and militarization in the region. The countries need to realize that there is no alternative to peace and cooperation in the region," Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizade said.
What does Azerbaijan expect from Armenia? What does it mean by peace?
Tigran Abrahamyan: What does Azerbaijan expect from Armenia now? It expects concessions in line with its own perceptions, which have been publicly announced. They refer to Syunik, Gegharkunik, Vayots Dzor, Tavush and all the way to Yerevan. Thus, the document that is called “peace” or a "peace treaty" may look like such only at first glance. Because in fact, if for Azerbaijan it looks like peace, for Armenia it entails new concessions and territorial losses.