ISLAMABAD : Monitoring Desk – Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed to a deal in Washington on 08 Aug to settle down a conflict that kept them at daggers drawn for three long decades but some questions are still unanswered. President Ilham Aliyev has answered these questions in an interview to Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya TV channel.
The questions include, the peace agreement was not signed, why the Zangezur corridor renamed after President Trump that is disturbing for Russia and Iran. Another question is about Iran that how the most important neighboring country sees the deal , especially the Trump Corridor. There is still a provision in the Armenian constitution that casts doubt on Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, etc.
President says , they (Armenians)will make an amendment in the constitution, as far as we understand. As soon as this amendment to the constitution is made and territorial claims to Azerbaijan are deducted from the constitution, the formal peace agreement will be signed.
The fact that Azerbaijan and Armenia initialled this document at the White House, in front of President Trump, means that it’s the end of the war and it opens absolutely new opportunities for the South Caucasus region and the broader regions of Central Asia and the Middle East.
To a question that if there is a political change in Armenia, will it harm the process? President did not replied in yes or no but said ” It’s difficult to say; I can only guess. I hope that nothing will interfere with the process.”
Next summer Armenia will hold parliamentary elections and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has been losing his popularity for last five years since when Azerbaijan has won Second Karabakh war. Pashinyan is also facing questions in his country and only a few days ago he tried to satisfy his countremen about the Washington deal.
President Ilham said , “We know that they are working on the draft of a new constitution. But if there is strong external interference, then yes, we may think that something could break what has been agreed, but that would be very harmful for Armenia itself. Because no matter who signed the documents in Washington, they were signed on behalf of Armenia by the Armenian leader.”
“If something happens with respect to the changes, and they step back from what has been signed, that would seriously deteriorate relations between Armenia and the United States. And not only the United States, but the international community supported this process – Europe supported, Türkiye supported, our friends in Arab countries supported – so the entire international community.”
The leader of Azerbaijan shared , We are positive with respect to that, so breaking this arrangement would mean going against the entire world. And what would they gain? For Armenia, what was signed in Washington is a guarantee for peace and stable development.
He warned , if any future government of Armenia, no matter when it comes to power, puts under doubt what has been signed in Washington, Armenia will face serious complications, because the balance of power in the region is absolutely in our favor from all points of view. I think it’s obvious to everyone, and if Armenia again puts under doubt our territorial integrity, we will respond adequately.
Why Trump route has come to the table? is a big question due to the complex regional composition if we see Russia, Iran . President Ilham Aliyev elaborated ,
During these almost five years of negotiations, Armenia did not demonstrate a constructive approach with respect to our demands or legitimate requests on this corridor. So when President Trump and his team started to be involved in the process and wanted to facilitate, our message to them was: without the Zangezur Corridor being operational and safe, so that Azerbaijani citizens can travel safely along this 40-plus-kilometer route, there must be strong security guarantees – international security guarantees.
“Only security guarantees from Armenia alone will not be enough. So Trump’s administration accepted this legitimate concern with the proper attitude, and that’s how it turned into TRIPP – Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, President said.
“So now, when President Trump gave his name to the Zangezur Corridor, I’m sure that it will materialize very soon. From the point of building the physical infrastructure, I mean the railroad, it should not take a long time, because it’s only 42 kilometers. If we were to build it ourselves, we would have done it in one year, President noted.
To another question, the President did not rule out the American investment in the construction of the corridor. The actuall concern of Iran, as President Iran visited Armenia only a week ago and raised this issue with Armenian Prime Minister.
President Ilham Aliyev replied , ” President Masoud Pezeshkian visited Azerbaijan twice: first on an official visit, and second, he attended the summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization in the liberated Karabakh, in the city of Khankendi. We established very good working relations with him. With respect to the official position of Iran toward the new development, we consider it very reasonable and very positive.
Regarding the concerns from Iran side, President Aliyev did not attach any importance with them calling them not the representatives of Irani people but some advisor type who are not elected. But here important to note is the visit of President of Iran to Armenia where he expressed his concerns on the new developments occured in Washington.
President Aliyev said , ” For us, everything is clear. The position of the president is absolutely reasonable and is based on the fact that the Zangezur Corridor is not in any way a threat to Iran. There have been a lot of rumors in some media and on some internet sites that Azerbaijan is planning to occupy Zangezur, or that Azerbaijan is planning to cut the Iranian-Armenian border. That was absolutely false.”
However , he added, “We had no such intention. Again, if we wanted to do it, we would have done it in November 2020. It was very easy to do, and throughout all these five years, it was very easy to do. It’s only 40 kilometers. From a military point of view, it would not take much time. From both sides – from Nakhchivan and from the mainland – you could take it.”
About Russia, in the background of Russian Military Helicopter gunned down by Azerbaijan and later Azerbaijani Passenger Plane shot by Russian Missile , to a question that , is Azerbaijan afraid of any Russian moves in the area to stop what Azerbaijan is trying to do? on geographic level, on the corridor and everything.
President answered , ” They have the military base in Armenia with several thousands military personnel. At the same time, Armenian border with Iran and Turkiye are protected by Russian border security. There is not a single Russian soldier on Azerbaijani soil. So what may happen in Armenia I don’t know, but I don’t want to think about this negative scenario.”
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