Recently, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched yet another wave of accusations against our country, alleging that we are “unwilling” to sign a peace agreement. The spokesperson for the Armenian foreign ministry, Ani Badalyan, in an interview with the “Armenpress” news agency, claimed that official Baku is engaging in “aggressive rhetoric” and “refusing” to sign a peace deal.
By “peace agreement,” the lady is obviously referring to the clauses that have already been agreed upon. From this, she concludes (based, mind you, on the opinion of “Armenian and international experts”) that Azerbaijan allegedly intends to use COP-29 as “a smokescreen for legitimacy with the aim of escalating the situation in the near future.”
She then adds that the “number of such analyses is increasing.” And, in the end, she decides to completely knock us off our chairs (as it’s impossible to suppress laughter while seated) by again referring to… “numerous analysts” who, as she claims, “believe” that leaders going to Baku without a signed peace agreement “may unwittingly become the instigators of war.”
To further emphasize her “peacefulness,” Ms. Badalyan added that “Armenia, for its part, is ready to adhere to the logic of signing a peace agreement before COP-29.”
“I would like to emphasize that the Republic of Armenia supported the decision to hold COP-29 in Baku as a tool for building trust between the parties and establishing peace in the region, and we would not want this to be used for the opposite purpose,” Badalyan said.
It’s amusing for us, of course, to see how Armenia suddenly starts referencing “experts” and “analysts” without, of course, naming them, because it’s well known that every country has a pool of, let’s say, convenient “talking heads” and “writing hands” who will say and write whatever is dictated from above.
Ms. Badalyan, we certainly appreciate your youthful age, which still surpasses the age of the “Fourth Republic,” created by your leadership six years ago. So let us, from the height of our accumulated experience and quite sincerely (neighborly) inform you that such tactics, like citing pocket analysts, have long ceased to impress anyone. Armenia’s pool of experts, serving as a hidden “ace up the sleeve,” can easily be countered with a pool thirty times larger. So, first of all, don’t burden yourself with references to “experts, who are increasing in number,” that is, yourselves.
Secondly, this hysteria is futile and pointless. It leads nowhere. The position has been stated crystal clear — until everything is agreed upon, nothing is agreed upon. A peace agreement is not a postponed game of chess. As if we’ve played a bit, let’s pause, record the moves, sign off, and continue later.
No, dear, that’s not how it works. Maybe it does in the world of Armenian fairy tales, illusions, and parallel realities, but in real politics, that’s not the case.
Thirdly, your calculations are mistaken. COP-29 is indeed important, but it is not an obstacle to safeguarding national security when necessary. Throughout world history, wars have happened before, during, and after events of such magnitude, so don’t place too much hope on it as a “restraining factor.” Just remember September 27, 2020 — those very days when the UN General Assembly was in full swing in New York. Think not of the short-term, but of your long-term future. After COP-29, there will be other important events, and they never stop. If you hope to drag things out from one COP to the next, believe me, you won’t get far. Peace agreements need to be worked on without being distracted by COPs or other events.
That is, of course, if you really want it.
Vugar Seyidov
Translated from minval.az
