The "parallel" worlds of Armenia

Speaking in parliament on Monday, the Armenian Prime Minister said that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces "violate the ceasefire regime on the border with Armenia almost daily by firing aimlessly." He completely rejected the accusations from Baku against Armenia, calling them false, and accused us of allegedly propagandizing the war, as well as - attention! - problems with discipline in the Azerbaijani army....

Pashinyan is in his role and is again trying to shift from a sore head to a healthy one. He wants to shift responsibility for the escalation from Armenia to Azerbaijan, said Rasim Musabekov, a member of the Milli Majlis.

"Azerbaijan has been raising the issue for the past month that the same undirected fire that Pashinyan accuses us of is being carried out from the Armenian side. There are videos proving the inappropriate behavior of Armenian soldiers with weapons at the border. Instead of investigating these cases and taking action, Pashinyan is trying to blame Azerbaijan.

Armenia is playing with fire. Baku has previously warned that if there are injured or dead people on our side as a result of these Armenian provocations, the other side will not be left without retribution. It is better for Pashinyan not to take things to extremes. Unfortunately, he always acts according to one scenario - he takes the situation to the extreme, and then begins to dodge, whine and look for an opportunity to get out. I have no right to give advice to the Prime Minister of Armenia, but let him look back and remember once again how such actions end for Armenia," said the Azerbaijani political scientist.

Nikol Pashinyan is of the opinion that parallelism in actions and statements is a great way to get rid of accusations and get rid of the need to solve the problem. This is what he does in almost all cases when he is faced with a difficult choice between saving Armenia and saving his political reputation.

However, it's not just about Pashinyan, who lives in a parallel world. Attempts to "trample" the enemy with counter-accusations have always been practiced by Yerevan. Given that the Western and Russian communities, as a rule, have always listened to Armenian narratives, accusations against Baku have often succeeded in eliminating the effect of accusations against Yerevan. The current authorities are counting on the same effect. Let us recall the tantrums of Armenian propaganda during the war about allegedly bombed kindergartens and shelled schools, which rose every time Azerbaijan accused Yerevan of shelling peaceful cities and killing civilians. And what are the "documented facts of ethnic cleansing and genocide" in Karabakh, which Armenian propaganda is now waving in the hope of drowning out the truth about the bloody acts of Armenians against the Azerbaijani population of Armenia and the previously occupied territories?

It should also be recalled the far-fetched parallels that Yerevan is trying to respond to Baku's just demands regarding the Armenian Constitution. We understand how difficult it is for Pashinyan to resolve this issue. He knows that he needs to be addressed, as evidenced by his previous statements. But he's afraid of his company. As long as the Nazis have the constitutional right to aggression against their neighbor, they are not very violent. When they are deprived of this right, the government will have a hard time. Therefore, it wants to delay this "exciting" moment by throwing into the discourse the alleged existence of claims on the territory of Armenia in the Constitution of Azerbaijan. This is how Pashinyan hopes to talk Baku into signing peace without making changes to the Constitution. And then we'll see.

The issue of Armenia's violation of the ceasefire regime is not new. Throughout the thirty years of occupation, the Armenian side has constantly kept the former line of contact under tension. Armenians were shooting at Azerbaijani positions and frontline settlements almost constantly. When undesirable incidents occurred, a noisy propaganda counterattack was immediately organized. Both in April 2016 and September 2020, the fighting began in response to the Armenian provocations. But our neighbors are not able to learn from either their own or others' mistakes. They continue to act according to the same pattern, again counting on patrons who will not allow and will not allow.

The resumption of provocations after a certain break is a message from revanchist forces against Azerbaijan. External actors interested in maintaining tension create conditions for provocations and cover for provocateurs. The interest of the European Union is quite definite. Indeed, Yerevan has already started talking about the possibility of withdrawing the EU observation mission after the signing of the peace treaty. This means that the guardians will strongly oppose the signing of the peace, or they will continue to rush Baku to sign the document without guarantees.  

Taking advantage of impunity and the lack of condemnation from the world, Armenia often crossed all borders in provocative actions and always raised a cry, receiving a harsh response. The provocations in the fall of 2020 ended with the defeat of the "century-old dream" of internationally recognized Azerbaijani territories for her. If the provocateurs go too far this time, they will have to worry about the internationally recognized territories of Armenia itself.

Does Pashinyan understand this? There is an opinion that the Armenian prime minister is not aware of the real situation and does not know what the Yerkrap "volunteer" gangs stationed on the conditional border are doing. The Armenian army is a big bazaar where there is no unity of command and military discipline. Just today, a video was distributed on social networks in which a "veteran" tells how Armenian officers fled from the front, pretending to be wounded and almost killed. And the soldiers simply left their positions, not wanting to die. It's funny that the supreme commander of such an army accuses the Azerbaijani Armed Forces of "indiscipline."

Yes, the situation in Armenia suggests that Pashinyan may indeed not know what is going on at the border, but this does not absolve him of responsibility. He called himself the prime minister - be kind enough to be responsible for everything.    

Is Nikol Pashinyan ready to answer for the consequences of the current series of provocations? That's the main question he has to ask himself.