Armenia and Azerbaijan are already exchanging territories - Saro  Saroyan

ArmInfo. Armenia and Azerbaijan are already exchanging territories. This logical  conclusion can be drawn from a number of factors, including the  Azerbaijani troops` incursion into Armenia`s territory on November  16. It should also be noted that the sides are saying one thing,  while doing quite different things, the analyst Saro Saroyan told  ArmInfo. 

"The November 16 events showed that by means of an armed aggression  against Armenia Baku, among other things, is resolving territorial  issues. As a result, Armenia`s leadership recently officially  published the number of square kilometers, 41, under Azerbaijan`s  control now. It is noteworthy that, at the same time - in a different  context though - Pashinyan actually announced an exchange of  territories between Armenia and Azerbaijan. And it will actually take  place during the border delimitation and demarcation," the expert  said.     

It is a Moscow-sponsored exchange of territories, with a secret  scenario being enacted, for the results to be presented to the public  as an accomplished fact. According to Saroyan, in Armenia`s case, the  result will be enclaves within Yerevan`s jurisdiction. In  Azerbaijan`s case, it will be parts of Armenia`s territory brought  under Azerbaijan`s control as a result of an armed aggression, the  analyst said.  Speaking of the methods being employed in the process,  Saroyan stressed that as long as military pressure on and armed  attacks against Armenia are justified, Baku will go on employing this  tactics. And, of course, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev should  not be expected to stop employing military mechanisms now that his  task is to torpedo a process. 

As regards Russia`s interests, the analyst believes that it is in  achieving a regional configuration to its best advantage as soon as  possible - primarily in the direction of Syunik. And, of course, it  is the implementation of the behind-the-scenes agreements between  Moscow and Turkey. According to Saroyan, it is a steady westward turn  in the settlement of both the Artsakh problem and Yerevan-Baku  relations that account for Moscow`s haste.