Azernews.Az

By Akbar Hasanov

Events were expected to happen this way... The media in Armenia are indignant at the participation of the Prime Minister of this country Nikol Pashinyan in the inauguration of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which took place in Ankara on Saturday. It should be noted that at this ceremony attended by 20 heads of state and about 45 ministers, although everyone was in order, Nikol Pashinyan was the only one who visited after cleaning all the dirt he got into.

Obviously, this trip was very informative for Pashinyan. Thanks to the Turkish leadership, he saw how powerful the Turkic unity is, how high the authority of Turkiye and Azerbaijan in the world, how strong the Azerbaijani-Turkish relations are. "Welcome, President of Azerbaijan, my dear brother! Thank you," this üas told by Turkish President Erdogan at the inauguration ceremony. And Pashinyan saw and heard all this.

He also saw how deep Turkiye's relationship with NATO, whose Secretary General also flew to Erdogan's inauguration. Stoltenberg also had a brief conversation with the President of Azerbaijan, who is not a member of NATO, but whose army has long been brought up to the highest standards of the Alliance, including through many years of cooperation with the Turkish army. Which is rightfully considered the second most powerful in NATO after the American one.

Summing up all this, it is safe to say that the trip to Ankara was sobering for the Armenian Prime Minister. It is clear that even before that he had no particular illusions about the prospects for military revenge for the devastating defeat in the 44-day war, but after visiting Turkiye, this topic was closed to him and his entourage once and for all.

It was the same as an amateur football player from a non-league team was allowed to enter the field for 10-15 minutes in the World Cup final. He may not even touch the ball during this time, but once and for all he will understand what an abyss lies between him and those “stars” of world football who fought for the world championship at the same time and in the same place.

And Pashinyan, who finally understood all this, will now be extremely surprised to hear all the nonsense that sounds in his address. I will give a couple of examples of the "flight of fantasy" of Armenian speakers. I note right away that they excel in insults without offering anything in return. This is a pathetic, primitive, provocative position.

"In ancient times, the side that won the war took away the king of the losing side as a trophy. Now the situation is exactly the same. The Turks are taking Nikol to Ankara as a trophy, demonstrating: we destroyed Armenia, won, killed, and now they brought their "king"", said Vahe Hovhannisyan from the group of alternative projects.

In reality, it was Vahe who demonstrated an alternative to reason and conscience - stupidity and shamelessness. He "forgot" that Pashinyan is not a king at all, but a prime minister legally elected by the majority of Armenian citizens. Secondly, no Turks or Azerbaijanis have destroyed Armenia, it is safe and sound. It is Azerbaijan that has to spend billions of dollars to restore its territories liberated as a result of a 44-day war from many years of Armenian occupation.

Thirdly, no one brought Pashinyan, he flew to Ankara himself. Because he understands the existing realities and is responsible for the present of his country. Which found itself in the grip of self-isolation and deprived of a future precisely because it had previously adhered to the position of people like this Vahe.

Turkophobia, Azerbaijanophobia, territorial claims against neighboring states have brought the Republic of Armenia to the status of a state that lost the war and a loser country in the South Caucasus.

Pashinyan understands that only a radical change in Armenia's position can change the future of Armenia. And, let's call a spade a spade, it is difficult and dangerous for him to pursue a different policy. After all, there are many people like Vahe in the Republic of Armenia. So, a certain director of the Center for Middle East Studies Tigran Lokmagezyan stated that a leader representing the interests of Armenia, having dignity, would not have gone to participate in Erdogan's inauguration ceremony.

That is, we have before us another character who openly preaches Turkophobia, who does not hide his dreams of eternal enmity between Armenia and its neighboring states. The same, I note, is what many representatives of the Armenian diaspora in different countries of the world crave.

They are trying to impose on Armenia, already in a miserable state, an agenda of hatred and enmity with Turkiye and Azerbaijan. This is more than a crime on their part, this is a mistake. Which can be very expensive for future generations of Armenian citizens. It seems that Nikol Pashinyan understood this and is therefore trying to promote a different agenda. Will he succeed in the end? Time will show. But his visit to Ankara, of course, was useful for an even greater understanding of the realities.

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