Dummies and helmets disappear from Baku war trophy park, but not completely. Photo

Changes have taken place in the war trophy park in Baku that was opened after the second Karabakh war. Now there are no more dummies of Armenian soldiers, no alleys of “enemy helmets”. However, our correspondent managed to find a pair of “forgotten” helmets in the park. The expert called these changes the result of behind-the-scenes negotiations.

‘War trophies park’ in Baku sparks controversy domestically and abroad

The “War Booty Park” in Baku was received with great enthusiasm by the local society, but it is sharply criticized outside the country

On April 12, 2021, a war trophy park was officially opened in Baku. It exhibits military equipment of the Armenian armed forces, taken as a trophy during the second Karabakh war in the fall of 2020.

But the presence in the park of dummies of Armenian soldiers, as well as alleys of helmets collected on the battlefield, caused an ambiguous reaction both within the country and abroad.

• Five Armenian prisoners returned from Azerbaijan to Yerevan
• Azerbaijan vs Armenia in UN court: what happened in Hague?
• Armenia vs Azerbaijan: Hearings at the UN International Court of Justice

Recently, local media reported that helmets and dummies of soldiers disappeared from the war trophy park. Park employees explained this by the need to repair wax dummies. There was no explanation for the disappearance of helmets.

Today a JAMnews employee went to the park to see with his own eyes the changes that have taken place there. There are no dummies in the park, this is understandable from the photographs. “Alley of helmets” was not there either.

But in the impromptu “trench of the Armenian armed forces” our employee managed to find two “forgotten” helmets at the “firing points”.

Expert opinion

Recently, there have been events that the parties prefer not to talk about, says political observer Azer Gasimov.

“The fact that there are no more dummies of soldiers and the avenue of helmets in the war trophy park became known in early October. Armenian media explained this by the proceedings in the International Court of Justice, but this is far from the case. The hearings in court began a few days ago, and a decision on the claims has not yet been made.

The changes in the park can be attributed to the result of behind-the-scenes negotiations, which, no doubt, are actively underway. Take, for example, yesterday’s transfer of five saboteurs, who are called prisoners of war in Armenia, to the Armenian side. For the first time in the post-war period, such an event did not take place in the form of an exchange, but unilaterally. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. We do not yet know in return for what concessions these servicemen were transferred from the Armenian side.

A meeting of the trilateral commission is taking place in Moscow today. So far, nothing is known about the results of this meeting. But I hope that they will be positive and in the near future we will see the rapprochement of the positions of the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides on some very important points”, the expert said.