YEREVAN — Baku is trying to create a “legitimacy” for escalation in the region, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an exclusive interview with Armenpress, commenting on the latest statements by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
“Aggressive statements are being made with the expectation that aggressive responses will come from Yerevan, which would allow Baku to make more aggressive statements. These would be paired with false claims about ceasefire violations by the Armenian Army, in order to create a ‘justification’ for a new escalation in the region,” the Prime Minister explained.
“We will not take that path; we will remain committed to the strategy of peace and continue to implement the peace agenda consistently,” PM Pashinyan emphasized.
In an interview broadcast late Tuesday, Aliyev referred to the independent Armenian state as “in effect, a fascist state.” He stated that Armenian “fascism” poses a serious threat to Azerbaijan. “It will either be destroyed by the leadership of Armenia, or we will destroy it,” he declared.
Aliyev also reiterated his demand for a halt to Armenia’s arms acquisitions. He insisted that Yerevan should not only stop buying weapons but also return military equipment that had been supplied by France and other countries.
Commenting on these remarks, Pashinyan suggested that Aliyev’s goal was to provoke aggressive responses from Yerevan, which would help Baku justify a “new escalation in the region.”
“We will not follow this path,” Pashinyan told Armenpress. “We will remain committed to the peace strategy and will continue to implement our peace agenda.”
Aliyev further demanded the opening of an extraterritorial corridor to connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave through Armenia’s strategic Syunik region.
“The Zangezur corridor must be opened, and it will be opened,” he stated. “I have already said that they should not irritate us and should understand that we have the say here… In the modern world, the factor of force is at the forefront, and no one should forget about it.”
In response, Pashinyan insisted on his government’s Crossroads of Peace initiative, which calls for conventional transport links between the two South Caucasus states. He added that Yerevan is still awaiting Baku’s response to its “very concrete proposal” on the matter, which was made after his most recent talks with Aliyev in October.
