According to him, the latest escalation at the conditional border will be discussed at the next meeting of the sides.
“This situation will be a subject of discussion, as will all these provocations. The trends that had been emerging were cut short. Earlier, everyone kept saying that Azerbaijan was blockading the Karabakh Armenians, then everyone saw that the checkpoints were working and there was no blockade. Of course, one aspect that should be emphasized is that it was recorded by technical means that the provocation was initiated by the Armenian military,” he said.
Zulfugarov points out that it is Armenia that finds itself in a predicament here. Its authorities must either condemn and punish the commanders who gave the order to shoot, or explain their actions.
“They will not be able to disrupt the upcoming meetings. The situation has changed radically, because Azerbaijan equipped all of the points with technical means of control in a timely manner, which makes it impossible to manipulate information like before. Taking advantage of their great opportunities in the media, the Armenians used to present their own atrocities in their favor, but now they cannot do that. The Armenian side will have to answer for this situation to international mediators,” the diplomat added.
Based on the above, Azerbaijan will seek to participate in these meetings, and discussions should be such as to bring clarity to the situation, our interlocutor believes. “Now Pashinyan finds himself in a bind. There are various versions being voiced as to who could be the mastermind behind all this. There are supposedly certain groups within the security agencies who could have organized it. But I think the ball is on the Armenian side here, and they have to shed some light on the matter,” he stressed.
Speaking about how it will affect the course of negotiations to unblock the region, the former Foreign Minister said that the trends that have recently emerged are in line with the strategy that Azerbaijan has announced and is purposefully implementing.
“A very large part of the confrontation is happening in the propaganda arena. Now the fact that Azerbaijan has made the situation so transparent shows that there is no danger in the Lachin border checkpoint. However, the radicals on the Armenian side, who may be backed by forces from other countries, have embarrassed themselves,” Zulfugarov added.
As for how the roads will operate, the diplomat said that we must understand that the purpose of this provocation is to attract some forces to the conditional border, so that they will ensure control over it. “The game here is on the propaganda platform. I believe Azerbaijan will handle the situation,” he said.
Commenting on Pashinyan’s criticism of state symbols and his desire to change them, Zulfugarov said it shows that Pashinyan wants to bring Armenians back to reality rather than dwell on history.
“Less than two million Armenians live between the states with which it feuds and in which some 100 million people live. This is the adequate reality Armenia is facing, and Pashinyan understands it. And he also understands that he will have to address this problem,” Zulfugarov summed up.
Translated from Minval.az
