"In Armenia, they say one thing but do another." Comment from Baku
Azerbaijan demands return of enclave villages
Tension between Baku and Yerevan is growing over four of the eight village enclaves located in Armenia. Azerbaijan demands their return as a first step, and the fate of the remaining four villages to be determined within the process of delimitation and demarcation of the state border. “Baku, unwilling to wait years again for the Armenian side to move from words to action, makes it clear it could resolve the problem by force,” comments Azerbaijani political analyst Gadzhi Namazov.
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What happened?
The day before, a post appeared in the Telegram channel of the Azerbaijani outlet Caliber with the following content:
“Almost a week has passed since Nikol Pashinyan, in a meeting with Armenians living in the border Tavush region of modern Armenia, declared the necessity of returning four Azerbaijani villages occupied by Armenia.
Currently, there is a delay in moving from words to action. We, being an ordinary Telegram channel not affiliated with any authorities, simply report that Baku is not willing to wait long. Failure to return the villages promptly will be seen as Yerevan’s intention to continue their occupation, which, in turn, will be a reason to start military actions against the Republic of Armenia, including asymmetric actions by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.”
A few hours later, the European Union special representative for the South Caucasus, Toivo Klaar, wrote on social media:
“Threats towards Armenia in Azerbaijani media are unacceptable. Genuine negotiations on border demarcation are necessary, and all territorial disputes should be resolved peacefully and within an agreed process.”
In response to Klaar’s post, the spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Aikhan Hajizade, replied:
“Toivo Klaar cannot rid himself of biases and sees evil only in the legitimate discourse about the return of Azerbaijani villages. He completely ignores calls in Armenian media to fight for the continuation of illegal occupation. For your information, the villages are not a subject of territorial dispute.”
JAMnews asked political analyst Gadzhi Namazov to comment on the situation.
Expert comment
“If you think about and analyze the events around the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict, you inevitably come to the conclusion that all armed clashes in recent years were initiated by the Armenian side’s desire to delay and do nothing.
In this, they were almost always actively assisted by so-called mediators. The West prefers to leave things as they are, hiding behind the slogan ‘anything but war’, but by doing so, they always brought the ‘war’ closer. Because to prevent combat encounters, one must take action, not just sit idly.
Years of ‘hide and seek’ by the OSCE Minsk Group led Azerbaijan to resolve many of its problems militarily. After the 44-day war, official Baku repeatedly called on Yerevan to withdraw its troops from Karabakh – sovereign Azerbaijani territory, and not to arm the separatists. But again, it encountered an ambiguous stance, where Armenia says one thing but does another.
Pashinyan personally acknowledged the territorial integrity of the neighboring country and the belonging of Karabakh to Azerbaijan. But at the same time, his government continued to support the armed separatist regime in the territory of the country whose territorial integrity he recognized. All this led to an anti-terrorist operation in September 2023.
Now we are experiencing another stage of the conflict following the same script. At least, the scenario repeats. Azerbaijan demands the return of four village enclaves bordering the state line as a first step. The prime minister of Armenia acknowledges that these villages are not part of Armenia. And that’s it. The matter does not progress further.
Moreover, Armenian military leaders in media interviews deny any plans to return the villages to Azerbaijan.
Baku, unwilling to wait years again for the Armenian side to move from words to action, hints that it could once again resolve this problem by force. And here, Europe rushes to Armenia’s aid like Chip and Dale from the famous cartoon. The EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus, instead of calling on Yerevan to move to practical steps to resolve the conflict, urges the Azerbaijani side to refrain from aggressive rhetoric and continue negotiations. Which, actually, are still not moving from a standstill.
Armenia’s behavior is similar regarding the issues of opening regional communications. Loud words like ‘Peace Junction’ are not supported by anything. Azerbaijan is almost finished constructing its part of the Zangezur Corridor. Simultaneously, Baku is building another road to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic through Iran, in case this corridor does not function.
How about Armenia? Again, no action beyond words. Yet, the Armenian part of the road will not just appear by itself; construction will take a significant amount of time. And to offer something, one must have something.
One can only hope that Yerevan also understands all this and will try to avoid another escalation at the border.”
