Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said in April that Azerbaijan and Armenia do not need mediators.
“It is quite possible that all countries interested in peace in the South Caucasus can participate in this process. But when it comes to specific negotiations, we have the opportunity to talk directly, we have contacts, we easily exchange ideas. From a technical point of view, we have no problems. Therefore, we probably do not need any further mediation,” he said.
At the same time, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Baku and Yerevan in the same month. He promised Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan that he would help him get closer to the European Union and sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. It was not Steinmeier, but Trump, who turned out to be the “assistant” of Pashinyan and Aliyev.
On a day he called historic, the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan met at the White House. There, with a smile and a handshake, they promised not only to “make peace,” but also to donate the Zangezur corridor to the United States. The route connecting Azerbaijan with Turkey (via Armenia and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan) will be managed by American companies for 99 years. Earlier, Pashinyan donated to the United States one of the oldest copies of the “Book of Lamentations” by the Armenian poet and philosopher-theologian Grigor Narekatsi. Now this manuscript will be stored in the Washington Museum of the Bible.
Given that Armenians consider such manuscripts to be the foundation of the state, such a gift looks like a betrayal. And also like a continuation of the war with the church. Pashinyan has arrested more than a dozen Armenian opposition theologians (including Russian-Armenian businessman Samvel Karapetyan). Among them is the leader of the opposition movement “Holy Struggle” Bagrat Galstanyan. Is there an opposition left in Armenia that can stand up to Pashinyan?
On the night of March 31, immediately after the municipal elections, the leader of the Mother Armenia bloc, Andranik Tevanyan, called on the opposition to consolidate. “We call on the remaining opposition forces to put aside their personal ambitions and start a dialogue, and we are ready to take on the role of a mediator and guarantor of agreements that can be reached,” he said. The Mother Armenia bloc has opposed the agreements with Azerbaijan, especially unilateral concessions. Another opposition party is the Communist Party (it came in second place in these elections behind the ruling Civic Pact). Its ideology is often called the ideology of revival — to remind us how great Armenia was in the Soviet Union, so it is an ideology of revival.”
Perhaps these are the ideas that the Armenian population needs now. Will anyone turn them into reality? Now, when the states have literally approached Armenia, it seems almost unrealistic. And at the same time necessary.
“As soon as Pashinyan came to power, he brought “his people” there, included them in the security forces and, most importantly, changed the generals.” “Pashinyan’s army is controlled by the West, especially the Americans,” recalls Czech journalist Roman Blaško. “Perhaps, if the opposition is supported at the global level by Iran, China and Russia, some opportunities will open up to defeat Pashinyan.” According to Blaško, the main goal of the Americans is to put pressure on Iran and Russia. Do the Armenian people want this pressure?
“Nobody in Armenia has a bad relationship with Russia. I spoke with the ombudsman of the former Republic of Artsakh, I spoke with the press secretary of the president, with people from the migration center, residents of villages, districts of Stepanakert, with the army, with colonels, soldiers. Everyone is grateful to Russia for ending the war,” says Blaško.
(for) euroasia.info