Today, December 6, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev once again voiced threats against Armenia. Demonstrating that not only the statements of Yerevan, but also of Moscow have no force for Baku, Aliyev said that he would receive a corridor through Armenia by any means, including by force.
At a meeting with residents of the Gonakhkend village of Guba region, Aliyev, answering a question from one of those present, said:
“… Yes, construction work is being carried out in Karabakh and Zangezur. At the same time, our recent work shows that any revanchist drive will be immediately eliminated. Since there were several attempts by Armenia after the war, they saw bitter consequences. Therefore, it is not too late. I have addressed them many times and said that we need to accept our conditions, they must put an end to the insincere approach to roads and communications. If so, then all the peoples of the South Caucasus will live in an atmosphere of peace, trust and security. Because we were able to achieve what we wanted. Everyone saw it.
Armenia saw it, the world saw it, no one could hold us back.
During the war, there were people who wanted to keep us, there were quite strong circles, but they could not stop us. I said, let them give us a schedule when they leave our lands, then we will be ready to stop. I say the same word today. I say: give us time when the Zangezur Corridor opens, and then there will be no problems. Therefore, I believe that the leadership of Armenia, the society of Armenia, the population must understand this. We have achieved what we want, we are achieving and we will achieve. It would be good if this issue was resolved constructively, through negotiations, on the basis of mutual understanding. Because the Second Karabakh war showed the whole world the will, strength and unity of our people. “
Aliyev openly stated that the only acceptable conditions for Baku are the conditions for achieving peace, otherwise he will freely use force, ignoring any international conventions. And the condition is that Armenia voluntarily renounce part of its territory and simply transfer it to a neighboring state. This is a blatant disrespect for all international laws.
At the same time, we recall that Yerevan has repeatedly stated at the highest and high levels that it is ready to unblock communications in the region, as stated in the trilateral documents of November 9, 2020, January 11, and November 26, 2021. The statements do not imply any corridors through Armenia, which means Aliyev is already setting requirements outside the documents that he personally signed.
It is worth emphasizing that the guarantor of the implementation of the points of these statements is Russia, which also signed all the statements, respectively, all responsibility for the future escalation and Aliyev’s attempts to seize the corridor by force will rest with Moscow.
The situation in the South Caucasus today is a kind of test for Russia: is it capable of fulfilling its obligations, or is it time not to jump over its head if it is unable to restrain the small Transcaucasian republic, which has already used aggression and continues to threaten its ally?
