“For Armenia today, Russia presents a new challenge – the challenge of an unreliable ally. However, I believe that if we look at the situation in a wider strategic context, the Armenian authorities should not only challenge Moscow but also challenge Azerbaijan more decisively,” Kirakosyan said. And the most formidable “challenge”, in his opinion, should be the closure of the country’s airspace.
“Armenian airspace should not remain open to civilian aircraft of Azerbaijan and Türkiye. Another step could be for Yerevan to refuse to participate in meetings with the Azerbaijani side as long as the Lachin road is blocked and Azerbaijani troops are not withdrawn from sovereign Armenian territory. Now the truth is on our side, and we must translate it into diplomatic means,” Kirakosyan believes.
And further he, forgetting about the “challenges” that Armenia seems to have to mount to Moscow, instinctively, out of habit, hides behind Russia: “The military plane from the Russian military base can actually break through the blockade and deliver much needed humanitarian aid and food reserves to Karabakh. I do not think the Azerbaijani side would risk shooting down a Russian warplane,” says the “political analyst”.
In Vardanyan’s case, it is all quite trivial. Back in 2013, Azerbaijan secured crucial international support: ICAO Secretary General Raymond Benjamin stated that attempts to open Khojaly airport unilaterally, without certification and permission from the Azerbaijani side, are in direct violation of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, as well as international legal norms. As they say, don’t you dare even dream about it!
However, the Armenian expert’s words make it clear that he is either completely ignorant of political issues or, like any Armenian who has got a hold of the media, is trying to please the ears of his compatriots with geopolitical fiction. However, we all know how such statements of the Armenian public and political figures, which have nothing in common with reality, turned out for the Armenian people in the autumn of 2020: the “Yerablur” cemetery expanded. Apparently, Kirakosyan thereby wants to make a contribution to this holy cause by calling on the Armenian leadership to challenge Azerbaijan.
Moreover, it is not entirely clear which “truth” is on Armenia’s side. Perhaps it is the one invented by Kirakosyan himself, because the theses of the Armenian side are based precisely on illusions and dreams, which, as you know, very rarely come true. Although his assertion that “another step could be for Yerevan not to participate in meetings with the Azerbaijani side as long as the Lachin road is ‘blocked’ and Azerbaijani troops are not withdrawn from the sovereign territory of Armenia” is more a chimera than a dream. The fact is that the Armenian side always forgets that it was Azerbaijan that won the 44-day war. Hence, time, international law, and everything else are on Baku’s side and it is Armenia that needs the negotiations.
The talking heads in Armenia are still rattling and do not take into account the fact that the Second Karabakh War put an end to the empty, fruitless negotiations that lasted for 30 years. And no military aircraft from a Russian base, much less “challenges” and refusals from the Armenian leadership can stop a process that Azerbaijan launched back in November 2020. Moreover, contrary to Kirakosyan’s expectations, neither Russia nor any other country will go against Azerbaijan to please Armenian interests and whims. Two years is enough time to learn the lesson, but, as we can see, not in the case of Armenia. They still believe in Father Christmas and build “air castles” instead of diplomatic bridges.
Meanwhile, Armenian dreams have repeatedly crashed against Azerbaijani reality. And as the experience of more than two years ago has shown, the shards hit mercilessly. So if Kirakosyan believes that the bearers of the name Richard by default have a lion’s heart, the Azerbaijani soldier can easily change his mind. As the popular Soviet slogan goes, “We can repeat it”.
Huseyn Safarov
Caliber.Az
