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Rena Murshud

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The expected five-way informal meeting in Chisinau was held at a positive level. Of course, it would be wrong to attribute this to Armenia. The meeting included talks on energy, transport and security issues, and there was also discussion on some outstanding issues between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which has been on the agenda for the past few years.

But as regards the main focus of the meeting, it was on searching of alternative routes. Obviously, depending on the geopolitical conditions, Europe is looking for alternative transport routes to expand its energy supply. And in this case demand for opening of Zangazur corridor comes to the importance. The question is that would this be helpful to speed up the opening of the Zangazur corridor in the near future?

“The essence of all the problems is obvious to everyone. All communications must be open. Armenia is the only country that does not want this. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, under various pretexts, is trying to slow down the processes. Because while negotiations are underway, on the one hand, it retains its power in the region, and on the other hand, the country creates additional conditions to show its strength in internal conflicts."

Azerbaijani political analyst Tofig Abbasov told this to Azernews while commenting on the issue. He added that until now, Armenia has carried out the process of procrastination and has always avoided specificity and objectivity. "In doing so, he focused on secondary and tertiary issues. He believed that this would put Azerbaijan and the head of state, Ilham Aliyev, in a hopeless situation. However, in the course of the processes we observed the exact opposite," Abbasov said.

The expert emphasized that, not Azerbaijan, but on the contrary, Armenia was in a desperate situation. "We saw that President Ilham Aliyev defeated not only Armenia, but also the co-chairs of the Minsk Group, foreign Armenian patrons - all of them. None of these issues create favorable conditions for the Armenians. If bilateral communication finds a solution, it will be proved that the Armenians are ready to sign a peace treaty."

As regards the question about the progress that is expected to achieve from the next trilateral meeting to be held in Brussels on July 21, the expert replied that Azerbaijan has always openly declared its position.

"Armenia always creates artificial barriers. When a clean background is created at the end of each meeting, the Armenians say that an international mechanism is needed to ensure the rights of the Armenians living in Karabakh, and they exaggerate the issue. However, President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly stressed that this issue is an internal affair of Azerbaijan. If the Armenians living there take citizenship, they will live in peace with the Azerbaijanis, otherwise those who do not want to can leave our lands. I think that those who do not want peace are not the Armenian people, but Soros-based philanthropists abroad, lobbyists and separatist groups. No concessions will be made to those whose hands are stained with the blood of the Azerbaijani people," the political analyst stressed.

According to the expert, there has never been a constructive approach on the part of the Armenians. By following this policy, they deny everything and destroy their future.

Tofig Abbasov also commented on France's participation in the meeting and showing a somewhat soft position towards Azerbaijan. In his response on France's such behavior, the expert stated that they firstly understood that Azerbaijan would not take a step back on this issue as it did by taking the main heights and strengthened the control over Karabakh, and adjacent territories. And later Azerbaijan established a checkpoint on the Lachin-Khankendi road despite discontents and anxieties expressed by the West.

"Azerbaijan has shown its strength to the whole world not by promises, but by deeds. France was shocked by this and was forced to accept the position of Azerbaijan. France also worried that going too far the limits would mar its relations with Azerbaijan. As far as we know, Total is actively working in Azerbaijan. France has invested about $4 billion in the Azerbaijani economy, which is 5 times ($ 700 million) more than they do in Armenia. For France, Azerbaijan and Armenia may have the same geopolitical weight. However, Azerbaijan has made very progressive steps in economic terms in recent years. France decided to retreat on this issue, as it was unprofitable for France to break off relations with Azerbaijan," the expert concluded.

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Rena Murshud is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @RenaTagiyeva

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