Political analyst Farhad Mammadov wrote this on his Telegram channel.
“The West’s delayed response and the Secretary of State’s statements that the ‘Brussels Conspiracy’ is not aimed against Azerbaijan do not inspire trust. Armenia is not removing territorial claims against Azerbaijan in its legislation, is not closing the representation of the separatist entity on its territory, is not releasing the border villages… In these conditions, providing unprecedented support to a country that has occupied Azerbaijani territories for 25 years and demonstrated reluctance to accept reality after 2020, hindering the reintegration of Karabakh into Azerbaijan, cannot be calmly considered in Baku.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has clearly and unambiguously expressed Azerbaijan’s position, diagnosing the ‘Brussels Conspiracy’. In his opinion, the opaque preparation of the tripartite meeting planned for April 5th between the USA – European Union – Armenia, its non-inclusive nature, and the fact that it was not postponed despite Azerbaijan’s justified remarks will lead not to peace and cooperation in the South Caucasus but to the emergence of dividing lines and, ultimately, tension.
Thus, the West, with its unilateral, Armenia-centric actions, is pushing the region into a maelin of instability and increased tension,” the political analyst noted.
“It is clear that after announcing the total amount of aid to Armenia on April 5th, the West will try to ensure broader physical access to Armenia. This can only be done by opening the border between Armenia and Turkey.
It can be confidently stated that such proposals are already being made to official Ankara, and after April 5th, pressure on Ankara will only increase. The West has already played this trick in 2009 through full support of the Zurich Protocols. However, the principled stance of President Ilham Aliyev and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan put an end to this process. The West will now strive to separate these processes, which should proceed in parallel.
Closed borders with Turkey and ignoring Armenia in regional projects are the only sanctions that Azerbaijan has implemented against the aggressor country. And these sanctions will continue until the set goals are achieved,” Mammadov believes.
“For Turkey, it is more important to consider Azerbaijan’s opinion than to agree under Western pressure to open the Armenian-Turkish border without a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The President of Turkey has repeatedly said that ‘the world is greater than five!’, and has dedicated his political life to proving this statement. In 2020, Azerbaijan and Turkey together proved that ‘the world is greater than five!’, and should not succumb to external pressure. The world will not understand when the leadership of Turkey, after such close alliance, suddenly decides to take such a step without considering the opinion of Azerbaijan…
The pressure of the West in the region is increasing, and this sets in motion regional forces that will respond to such outrageous behavior. “The Brussels Conspiracy” could question all efforts to restore peace and stability in the South Caucasus. However, there is a way out of the situation, namely taking into account the fair demands and interests of Azerbaijan. The West has all the possibilities to do so, let’s see if the West will utilize these opportunities… The principled position of Azerbaijan and Turkey can only contribute to transforming the West’s initiatives in the region from destructive to constructive,” the expert concluded.